


Love Him in My Absence

by Koroshimasu



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Anal Fingering, Anal Play, Anal Sex, And to everyone at Quantic Dream, Aphrodisiacs, Avoidant Personality Disorder, Blow Jobs, Bottom Gavin Reed, Chapstick Challenge, DPD universe, Dead Dove: Do Not Eat, Deviant Connor (Detroit: Become Human), Deviant Upgraded Connor | RK900, Don't Like Don't Read, Drama, Drama & Romance, Drinking Games, Dysfunctional Relationships, Elijah Kamski & Gavin Reed are Half-Siblings, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Emotional Problems, Emotional Slow Build, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Estranged Nines, Explicit Sexual Content, Father figure Hank Anderson, First Time Blow Jobs, First Time Bottoming, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Smut, Forced Bonding, Forced Marriage, Forced Relationship, Fuck Or Die, Gavin Reed Being an Asshole, Gavin Reed Needs a Hug, Gavin Reed Redemption, Gavin Reed is Bad at Feelings, Gay Disaster Gavin Reed, Good Parent Hank Anderson, Goth Nines, Hand Jobs, Hate Sex, Hate to Love, I apologize to David Cage, Intercrural Sex, Kinda, Longest novel I've ever written, Lots of Tea, Love/Hate, M/M, Masturbation, Miscommunication, Mutual Masturbation, Nines is confused, Nines is socially awkward, Nipple Play, Oral Sex, Original Character Death(s), Original Character(s), Parental Hank Anderson, Paternal Hank Anderson, Post-Pacifist Best Ending (Detroit: Become Human), Protective Upgraded Connor | RK900, Psychological Trauma, Punk/Gothic RK900, Rimming, Romantic Fluff, Self-Denial, Self-Discovery, Self-Hatred, Sexual Tension, Slow Build, Slow Burn, Sorry Not Sorry, Strained Relationships, Supportive Nines, The author needs a fucking vacation, Top Upgraded Connor | RK900, Worried Nines
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-05
Updated: 2020-08-08
Packaged: 2020-11-24 15:57:05
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 81
Words: 344,894
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20910263
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Koroshimasu/pseuds/Koroshimasu
Summary: Gavin’s father dies, leaving his son a large sum of money behind as his inheritance. Unfortunately, Gavin’s mother writes him stating that his father’s last will and testament requires him to find a suitable partner to marry and settle down with before his fortieth birthday, otherwise, he can’t access the inheritance.It isn’t long before Gavin remembers that Nines owes him a favor from long ago, but how can a man who has commitment issues find love and trust under duress?





	1. The Letter

**Author's Note:**

> I love these damn forced wedding stories. That's all I can really say for writing another one. But this story is a lot sadder than 'More Than a Woman, More Than a Bride', and thankfully, Nines isn't as cold and jackassy as in the other fic.

**Love Him in My Absence **

No matter how many times he’d glanced through the letter currently resting on his lap openly, Gavin Reed knew his brain was unable to fully process its deeper context and message. It wasn’t often that he received letters from his elderly, widowed mother, but whenever he had previously, it often consisted of dull, banal topics regarding the weather, his job, his unkempt, old apartment, the possibility that he should ask Captain Fowler for a raise, the fact that he was underweight, and then she would usually beg for him to come back home and live with her. The topics usually wavered and consisted of these natures, but the letter Gavin currently read over was so much different.

In fact, it was so different, that he suspected he’d imagined and dreamed it up. After taking a trip to the water fountains, then the washrooms where he splashed cold water on his face, made the walk back to his desk, stubbed his toes a few times, and slammed his elbows on the surface of the desk, he determined that this wasn’t a matter of him being asleep or daydreaming. But did he ever wish for it to be a dream…reading the letter once again confirmed his worst nightmares becoming a reality for him, and for once in his entire life, Gavin Reed had no idea what to do even as far as a reaction went.

Peeking down at the contents of the letter, he read it over for the tenth time before he heard someone shuffling around behind himself. Smelling the putrid, powerful stench of tobacco, he rolled his eyes dramatically before swiveling himself around in his spinning chair.

Eyeing Lieutenant Hank Anderson with a dull, vacant expression, he croaked out, “What’re you doin’, Anderson?”

Stroking his beard almost sluggishly, the older male grumbled out, “Was on my way over to ask you for an extra smoke, but I couldn’t help but read that note you got there…”

A minacious glare came out of Gavin, then, but rather than attack Hank and bickering with him like he’d wanted to, he only stilled his trembling hands and sighed sadly. He was truly defeated, this time. He had no stamina and no energy to throw out a biting, acidic remark; he was truly lost, bewildered, and backed into the worst of corners. Not with Hank Anderson, no, but with the true nature of the troubling letter from his mother.

Motioning at it with a sharp nod, Hank muttered, “Can I read it closer?”

Staring a few times between the note and Hank, Gavin eventually relented. “Fuck it,” he mumbled brokenly, tossing the letter over into Hank’s hands, “knock yourself out! Fuck! When you’re done with it, you can also post it on the bulletin boards too in the staff room, I don’t give a shit.” He knew he was being a tad dramatic, but he really was unable to contain the rest of his anger and channel it out in a more ‘positive’ way as opposed to throwing his chair out a window or something.

He only resorted to sitting back and staring awkwardly at the floor while Hank read the note silently, his lips miming the words as his eyes swam over from left to right.

Already, Gavin had practically memorized the letter all on his own. It was going to be something he remembered for life.

_‘My son, you are already thirty-eight-years-old, and next October, you will be thirty-nine. You’re still choosing to live the rough-and-tough ‘single life’, and I wouldn’t care a lot had I not stumbled upon your father’s last will and testament.’ _

Pausing here, Hank grunted out oddly, “Your dad’s dead, Reed?”

Scowling irritably, Gavin spat back, “Yeah, my old man croaked a few months back. Never attended his funeral or whatever because everyone would hear about it, snoop around, and fuck if I need anyone’s pity.”

Scratching his grey hair, Hank stated, “But Reed…that’s your _dad_…” Shaking his head in astonishment, he added, “You owe him something, at least.”

“I owe my dad shit,” Gavin couldn’t help but throw out emotionally. “He divorced my mom when I was barely ten, and then remarried the woman who raised the android-maker genius, Elijah Kamski.”

Yes, the really annoying part was that hardly anyone out there really knew that Gavin’s stepbrother was the infamous Elijah Kamski. Both adult men had lived separate lives in general, perhaps each of them had been ashamed of their parents’ pasts. But now that Hank had heard it, his eyebrows rose up high to his hairline, and he shrugged as he waved a hand before the irritable, moody detective.

“It’s nothing to be ashamed of, Reed,” he advised softly, “but let me finish this before my train of thought escapes me!”

“Whatever, old timer.”

_‘Your father loved you all his life. Maybe he didn’t get to tell you enough times, but he wanted to see you happy and loved above all else. His last will and testament states this, as it was his dying wish. Perhaps if you visited him in the hospital, you would’ve had the opportunity to talk to him and reach an understanding._

_He has left you this inheritance, Gavin, but it won’t come to you easily; not without his wishes and thoughts being considered and heard out by you. This could be yours, Gavin, and it is the one and only opportunity for you to possess something you always complained was your ‘natural born right’. This is a good chance for you to reconnect with the family legacy, Gavin._

_I suppose you’re wondering now what the catch is…well, to be blunt, your father wished to see you married and settled down before the age of forty, and this is a wish that is attached to the inheritance. _

_In layman’s terms; no wedding? No money._

_Last time I heard, you could really use some of that money; we both know they aren’t paying you too well at the DPD._

Lowering the page, Hank let out a dull snort, “She’s kinda right.” Pointing at the rest of the note, he hurriedly finished reading it.

_‘See to it that these conditions are met if you want to see a single penny, and remember, Gavin; we love you, and your father didn’t mean to hurt you. Everyone has a different path in life, and while your father and I struggled, you should know that we tried our best to make it work out. He found his true happiness elsewhere, however, and I found mine, too. _

_Now, it’s your turn to find yours._

_Your mother.’_

Whistling as he turned away from the letter and finally gazed at Gavin, Hank pointed at the note and cried out, “That’s brutal…so your dad left you a pretty good amount of dough, and you’re not allowed to access it unless you get married?!”

Nodding slowly, Gavin pressed out through tightly clenched teeth, “Yeah, that’s the gist of it, so it seems.”

With squinty eyes displaying nothing but raw confusion, Hank handed him back the letter as he inquired, “But Reed, no offense here,” he held up his hands, as if Gavin had him under gunpoint, “but you don’t seem like the marriage type!”

“I’m not,” Gavin admitted, “and besides, I haven’t had a normal relationship with a woman in like…fuck…” He turned beet red, not wanting to admit it, but it came out anyway in a tiny croak, “…In like five years…”

Hank rolled his eyes, “Weren’t you seein’ Tina a while ago?”

Gavin hid his face behind a hand. “No, Anderson,” he pressed out painfully, trying to push out the horrific memory and images from his mind. “I told you; it was just an awkward ‘almost-one-night-stand’.”

Hank grunted, “The fuck is an ‘almost-one-night-stand’?”

Soon, another pair of footsteps approached, and a long hand tapped Hank on the shoulder before a blue LED light practically blinded the two humans. “It means Gavin almost slept with Officer Chen, Hank!” Connor sang out cheerfully. “I remember that night! They were both so drunk after the DPD dinner!”

Gavin waved a hand at them, “Stop gossipin’ like girls and tell me how the fuck I’m supposed to—” He paused, only then taking note of how easily Connor had joined in the conversation. Peeved, he glared at Connor as he hissed out coldly, “Connor, you haven’t been goin’ through my mail again, have you?”

Connor had recently quit working in the homicide unit, and when Hank chose to retire and just do some odd jobs around the DPD, the friendly RK800 chose to rope him into his own personal suggestion of applying to work in the mail room. It worked out for the pair, but not without the cost of the nosy RK800 sometimes rifling through people’s letters.

When Connor looked down and suddenly held a penitent gaze in his large, dark brown eyes, Gavin threw his arms up in the air and rose from his chair. “Fuck it,” he hissed, “I need a cigarette.”

Connor’s jaw fell, “I thought you were going to quit?”

“Nah, I can’t now,” Gavin retorted, hands and fingers fumbling and shaking as he dug deeply within his dark brown sweater and searched for the only source of his relief and comfort. When he found his lighter and cigarettes, he let out a strained sigh of relief. Now, he needed to go somewhere quiet and peaceful so he could gather his thoughts, ruminate on his shitty situation, and try to come up with a solution to all this.

Maybe he could reason with his mother…but too bad his father was six feet under. Son of a bitch. Of course, he wouldn’t ever leave the Earth without taking one last jab at Gavin, and the detective found he had a new reason altogether to despise his father once again.

Shoving his chair out of the way, he zipped himself up and made his way through the bullpen, hoping the late autumn weather wasn’t going to be too cold for a quick smoke break. On the way towards the exits, he nearly ran into Captain Fowler just as the man had been descending from his office steps.

When their eyes met, Captain Fowler threw Gavin a heated glare, and then nodded suspiciously at him, “Where are you off to, Reed?” He interrogated the other man, “Your break ended twenty minutes ago!”

Throwing his hands in the air, Gavin grunted uncomfortably, “Jeffrey, can you just give me another break for a bit? I’m going through some tough shit, alright?”

Stepping up closely towards him aggressively, Captain Fowler growled, “You don’t dare tell me what you need and don’t need, you fr—” When he took note of Connor and Hank waving their hands at him and shaking their heads in anger, he froze, and then pointed at them. “The hell are you guys saying?!”

Not in the mood to deal with this any longer, Gavin quickly pushed past Fowler, and he tore towards the exits. His ears caught sounds of Hank, Connor, and Jeffrey Fowler screaming back and forth at one another, but he couldn’t give two shits what they were yammering on and on about.

Right now, he needed air, his cigarettes, and he needed to think.

Soon, the red ‘exit’ sign loomed in the distance, and as Gavin finally reached it, he fished out a fresh cigarette from his package. Holding it firmly between his teeth, he shoved the door open, and he stepped outside in a jiffy.

The cool autumn air greeted him, accompanied by the orange, yellow, and light green hues and colors. The trees were all either yellow or orange in leaf color, and others had fallen in large heaps and piles as the wind picked up the stray leaves and blew them about in a lovely array of dancing patterns and colors swishing about. In the top of some trees, due to the leaves falling, Gavin was able to see crow nests and other bird nests. Their young had long since abandoned the comfort and protection of the nests. Down the streets, a few stores and shops had already given in to the pre-Halloween season. Majority of these stores and shops had decorated their windows and perimeters with Halloween items and décor, and although it was still too early in the month of October, Gavin felt it didn’t seem too ‘off’ for the decorations to be there already.

It was only October 11th, and the detective could hardly believe that just four days ago, he’d turned thirty-eight. Time was slipping. He knew that he wouldn’t have much more of it to go ‘wife-shopping’.

Christ…when had he started thinking about shit like this?!

‘Wife hunting’?? Is that what his life’s work had all boiled down to?! Working his skin off, setting up and establishing a good, strong career for himself, finding his own place in the world, only to struggle with bills, finances, socialization, and now he had to settle down and open up to someone else about his quirks, kooks, and pet peeves?! Was he even ready for all that?!

Marriage was really not his cup of tea!!! Hank had been right!!! Gavin didn’t do a lot of dating in his youth, and he knew why that was so. A few therapists had called it ‘abandonment issues and commitment issues’, and they claimed it stemmed from the fact that his father had divorced his mother when he was so young.

Accurate.

For the most part, Gavin always pushed that sordid detail of his past out of his mind to the point where he’d convinced himself well enough that his dad really hadn’t been a part of the family that much. At one point, he’d stopped writing and emailing his dad, and then began cutting off other communication and connection ties.

No more phone calls, no more visits, he threw out every gift his father sent him in the mail every birthday, Christmas, and New Year. Soon, after almost half a decade of this routine, Felix Reed ceased to exist in Gavin’s mind. It was just himself he had to look out for. He was fine with it, as some people didn’t even have parents, and yet they turned out to be pretty decent people in society.

But he wasn’t sure if he was one of these people…

Realizing his cigarette had been burning away in the crispy air as he leaned against the cold bricks of the DPD building aimlessly, Gavin took a few long puffs from the burning cigarette while his eyes swam around the parking lot.

A wife…a wife…a partner?? He had to find a partner?!

All this was just so new and so random to him. How on Earth was he going to find someone to marry in just one year?!

Racking his brains for a few moments, he’d been so lost in his troubles and inner thoughts, that he’d failed to see a DPD police car pull in the parking lot. It parked quickly between two large, dark vans, and it sat idle for a moment before the engine turned off.

Racking his brains, Gavin went through a series of interesting emotions, each one just as riveting as its predecessor while he could do nothing except feel. He felt anger; he was angry with his father for abandoning him and his mother, and then leaving him with such a crazy, ridiculous notion that all this time he’d been a caring and loving parent who wanted Gavin’s true happiness by forcing him to marry someone. Gavin then felt exhilaration; he was excited he was owed a large sum of money. He found he really needed it in order to take better care of himself, and to try and look into a new apartment for his cats. Just last year, the stray he’d taken in got pregnant with a litter of six kittens, but the landlord had yet to find this out…things wouldn’t be pretty when he did.

Plus, bills kept coming and piling up, and Gavin had a lot of things on his plate he needed to address and take care of…if only he had the money!

Yes, this had all seemed like a gift sent down to him from the heavens above, and the timing couldn’t have been more perfect and ideal. But of course, he knew how his father was, and the son of a bitch had to go and add this clause in…perfect.

Resisting the urge to kick at the wall behind himself, Gavin’s face held a pouty, troubled expression as he stared around the parking lot again. What the hell was he to do?! He couldn’t just pass this up!!! He knew his dad had been loaded ever since he married into Kamski’s rich, blue-collar family, and the chances were that the inheritance was a lovely package Gavin wouldn’t be able to accumulate if he lived three lifetimes over.

He needed it.

But what if he didn’t take it??

Thinking about what the possibility of that would entail, Gavin soon grew even more upset, and angrier. Yes, he had the option of saying ‘fuck it all’ and leaving the inheritance behind, but then what would happen to all that money??

Perhaps it would go to Elijah…

NO!!!

Fuck. That. Right. Off.

Shaking his head, Gavin put out his cigarette after he took his last puff, and he crushed it and wedged it beneath the heavy, thick heel of his boot. Every time he ground it harder and harder and deeper and deeper into the thick, dark pavement, Gavin imagined squishing and bashing his father’s face into the ground and dirt in much the same way. After all, the bastard deserved it for leaving his mother and gifting him with the fear that he wouldn’t ever find love and support; people would just leave him just like his dad had left.

Fuck him.

He didn’t need his money.

………

But it was money he was owed…it was _his_ rightful money, and there was no way he was going to sit there and let Kamski have it…

Gavin sighed out to himself sadly, “Guess I better turn on the dating apps again…” snickering softly, he checked his phone for a brief moment, but then heard a car door opening and slamming shut quickly. It caught his attention, and as he glanced up, he saw the tall RK900 android known as ‘Nines’ walking towards the door.

The android wasn’t Gavin’s personal favorite friend, and they weren’t at all chummy. Truth be told, Gavin had a better and closer friendship with Connor than he had with Nines, but he couldn’t say they were mortal enemies, either. They just avoided one another for the most part, and frankly, Gavin didn’t really understand why. It just…it just happened that way, and he didn’t bother questioning it before or changing it around; it just was, so he went along with it until it became carved and ingrained into the quotidian lifestyle at the DPD.

From the time he’d been introduced to Nines, the android had just been…awkward. Gavin despised labeling it that way, but he couldn’t supply another word at all. It was just all so ‘awkward’ when it came to Nines. The sour android hardly spoke to him, but for some reason, he was amicable enough with others. Not particularly close with anyone or any other android, Nines came in to work in silence, and at the end of the day, he would leave in silence as well. He was very good at what he did, and he seemed eager to have anyone else’s back and support people through their duties.

No one could complain about him, and no one really did. Even Gavin put away his childish ‘battle’ with androids, and he soon found he got along mildly well with Connor now that the RK800 was always in the mail room and basement, and Nines was hardly ever immobile to even be spoken to, really. He was always on the move; always on the go.

But was he _really_ as eager to help out as others claimed he was???

Gavin wondered…

Catching him out of his peripheral vision at the last minute before he breezed by, Nines merely nodded in a curt, cold greeting at Gavin. “Detective.”

Dressed head to toe in all black clothes, Nines headed inside the DPD without another word uttered. However, he didn’t need to say or do anything; Gavin was already thinking, and the gears of his brain were working and spinning quite fast.

Technically, according to the last will and testament his father had laid out for him, he had to get married, yes, but there wasn’t any mention of a ‘real, legitimate’ wedding, was there??

Smirking to himself for his cleverness and witticism, he hummed as he leaned against the wall and said to only himself, “It doesn’t have to really be a true wedding, Gavin!! It can be a pretend one!! How will my mom know??”

It was a brilliant plan, and the moment he’d seen Nines walking by, he’d then realized just how wonderful and brilliant it was.

He had his ‘partner’; he had his ‘target’.

Nines owed him a big favor for a very good reason, and he was going to make use of it.

Two years ago, when Gavin saved Nines from a stray bullet during a hostage negotiation situation, the RK900 had promised that he would return the favor one day if Gavin ever needed him to do so. Well, it just so happened that today was the day he needed that favor.

Grinning up at the sky, Gavin headed back inside the DPD with renewed hope and with determined purpose.


	2. Broken English

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gavin tries talking to Nines...twice.

Asking people for things whether he was ‘promised’ or ‘owed’ them or otherwise wasn’t something Gavin was ever fully comfortable with doing. All his life, he’d worked his ass off for things he accumulated in his life, and that felt a lot better than just being owed something or just given something so freely. Real men didn’t get where they were in the world by asking for handouts, begging, pleading, whining, crying, or playing the victim card. Yes, his life had been rather chaotic and shitty. But had he ever used that as a personal trump card into getting a free ticket in life?

No. Not in a thousand years would he. Gavin Reed preferred earning things by the sweat of his brow rather than just making it big in the world by chance or accident. No, he never wanted to be like Elijah. That man had been given everything in life, and it was true that he’d struck a gold mine along the way. But did that mean he could survive and make it in the real world? Gavin supposed not. He’d never really had a conversation with his estranged half-sibling at all beyond ‘hi, so your mom married my dad?’. Still, that wasn’t a crucial requirement in getting to know a person at all, especially someone as mollitious as Elijah Kamski.

He had his status, his wealth, his success, and his comforts, and Gavin was on a whole other wavelength altogether. They never needed to mix, collaborate, cooperate, or even be on civil terms, so they never aimed to. But now, money was on the line, and although Elijah had heaps of it, but he seemed to be the greedy sort of lout that needed more and more, ever addicted to extremities in life. Extreme success, extreme wealth, extreme joy, extreme passion, extreme craziness, extreme lavish gifts fit for a King…fuck him. Fuck that spoiled brat. Gain hated him, and he didn’t give a fuck what happened to Elijah, just as long as he was given what he was damn well owed and promised.

Only, to ask for it seemed like such an arduous task indeed. Knowing Nines like he did, there was a high chance that the android wouldn’t make it easy for him. There would be interrogation; the never-ending need to sort and sift through questions and answers, and it would be a taxing and grueling start. That was of course the start…Nines wouldn’t let it go, perhaps. Not that Gavin could blame him, really, as it wasn’t every damn day that someone approached with the request of having a fake wedding! Yes, he had the right to ask questions, but Nines always asked questions like he did when he was grilling and interrogating a suspect…it wouldn’t do, and Gavin hated being under the spotlight.

But he owed him…Nines owed him _this_, at least! If it was his given right, he had the privilege of asking!!

Nerves flayed to the raw end, Gavin began sweating profusely as he made his way past desks and isles way beyond the bullpen all the way to the door leading into the ‘Archive Room’. Trying to stop him and catch him before he was lost, Gavin jogged up ahead, and cried out for Nines a few times.

He hadn’t realized how loudly he’d called for the tall android. More of an audience than he required had already been gazing and listening, staring back and forth between Gavin and Nines. The powerful android ceased moving, and he turned around and stared blankly down at Gavin.

Craning his neck, his eyes narrowed a fraction, and he curtly nodded again while greeting Gavin. “Detective Reed, may I be of some assistance?”

Cringing at what he’d heard, Gavin nearly fell into a persistent vegetative state. It was _still_ so damn weird hearing that crap coming from Nines, considering how everyone knew the RK900 was a deviant. Gavin had never before seen an android persisting and insisting upon remaining as cold and detached so that he seemed to be ‘pre-deviant’, but Nines was…well, he was Nines. The DPD oddball, he wasn’t too bad, but perhaps far too neutral, if anything.

Not wanting to stand there and mentally nitpick Nines’ strange idiosyncrasies all day long, Gavin felt the letter in his back pocket. Withdrawing it, he had been about to open it up and just show it to Nines, when the android shifted his weight a little, and he stared intently at the page.

“Is this new evidence, Detective?” came the neutral-sounding question. “Well done. I’ll need that for the Myers case.”

Gavin’s jaw dropped, and his lips formed a most confused ‘o’ shape. “Wah?” he barely managed to cough out, the page trembling in his sweaty, clammy hands. “Nines?”

“Good work, Detective,” the passive android pushed out, “I’ll keep in touch with you soon, but I’m afraid I have a few other pieces of evidence I’ll be needing to review for the case.” Not even bothering to hear Gavin out, Nines spun on his heels, and he headed past the door. It closed coldly and loudly behind him, leaving Gavin scratching his head in the wake of it.

“I…”

Someone chuckled in the far distance, and then a deep voice jabbed at him, “Nice job, Gav! He’s said more to you now than he ever has in two years!!”

Choosing to ignore Chris Miller’s silly comment, Gavin opened the door, and he made a beeline towards the Archive Room after Nines. Although the android had long legs, Gavin didn’t have to run for long before he caught up with Nines.

The page was fluttering in his hand as he panted lightly, and as he cursed himself for being a smoker for so many years, he managed to tap on Nines’ shoulder for half a second. It was successful enough in catching the android’s attention, and he stood with his hands clasped firmly behind his back.

Resembling a soldier at attention while he puffed out his chest, pushed back his broad shoulders, and stared down at Gavin with an unreadable expression in his blue eyes, his lips barely moved as he softly asked, “Is there something you require, Detective?”

That was when Gavin’s mouth snapped shut, and his brain stopped working.

Having no idea what on earth had happened, Gavin simply resigned to his current fate, which involved being statuesque and frozen as he stared and stared, and then stared some more at Nines.

What the hell was he about to say?? What was he going to do??

With Nines???

Studying Nines carefully, Gavin found he finally had his one and only chance of just taking into perspective _who _this was.

Nines was at least a whole head taller than he was, for one. He seemed not only ‘stronger’ in terms of his physical build, but in terms of his presence and ‘aura’, he gave off a more aggressively reserved personality type. Perhaps these associations were just vain imaginings for him, but ever since Gavin had reluctantly attended a few therapy sessions, he’d learned more than he should have in terms of human behaviorism, psychology, and relationship ‘management’. From what his therapist had assigned him to read, and from a few brief ‘google’ searches, he concluded that perhaps Nines was more aggressive than he let on, but he chose to hide and conceal it often.

Maybe he had good reasons to.

Everyone knew that the mysterious android could be violent and potent at times when displaying and demonstrating his hunter prowess and unique capabilities when it came to solving crime, tracking down perps, as well as interrogating and booking them. He was relentless, brutal, dogged in his pursuits, and he would only cease and desist when his efforts yielded some fruit.

Yes, Nines wasn’t all that passive after all.

Looking at him now in the clear lights of the hall leading into the Archive Room, Gavin felt his mouth turning even more dry than ever before.

Nines’ cold blue eyes seemed to teeter on the edge of annoyance and impatience, it seemed. Though his eyes didn’t shift as a person’s would, he hardly blinked as he just stared almost directly through the back of Gavin’s head. Those piercing eyes were the least of his concerns, however. His perfectly shaped nose seemed to turn up in revulsion and disgust at Gavin, but then ceased moving, as if sensing Gavin’s alertness to how the levels of tension were increasing. Marginally, Nines’ dark brown eyebrows clenched on his brow, and his blue LED light spun quickly on his right temple for a moment before it resumed its more ‘calm’ and ‘regular’ motions.

“Detective? Are you unwell?”

Snapping out of it, Gavin took a step back from Nines.

No way was this conversation happening; he’d made a big mistake.

Holding up a hand apologetically, Gavin continued backing away steadily, “Sorry, Nines,” he half-chuckled half-laughed out, “I think I forgot something on my desk…I’ll…” Nearly tripping over his own feet in the process, he kept on backing away until his shoulders nudged the door. “I’m just…” he ran.

The door swung shut softly, but that was the complete opposite to how madly and wildly Gavin’s heart was racing and throbbing in his chest until he reached his desk.

Plan one was shot to shit!! What was he going to do, now!?!?

~ѰѰѰѰѰ~

“No, Gavin,” Connor hissed out irritably for the fourth time in the short span of five minutes. “I don’t want to be a part of this… ‘wedding thing’!”

Gavin couldn’t believe that he’d resorted to crying and begging for the RK800 to reconsider. He hadn’t gone into details in regards to his strange experience with Nines; he’d just immediately run into the mail room asking Connor to play pretend to be his ‘partner’ just until his mother verified it and confirmed it so he could gain his lousy inheritance.

“Why don’t you want to help me, Connor?!” Gavin whined like a petulant child while the android sorted through piles and heaps of new letters, magazines, books, and other strange documents at his desk next to Hank.

Rolling his eyes dramatically, Connor snapped, “I just don’t feel comfortable enough with relationships yet, Gavin!”

Frowning, Gavin pointed crudely at him, “But you were messin’ around with an ex-Traci not too long ago, remember?”

Hank snorted acerbically, while Connor seemed flustered. Throwing his hands into the air, the heated and over-emotional android cried out, “I meant that I don’t want to be in a relationship with a _human_ being, Gavin!” He stated rudely while his tone turned serious and his eyes gleamed dangerously at Gavin, “Please stop pestering me, now; I have a lot of work to do!!”

Gavin pounded his fist into the desk as he screamed out, “You’d just sell a friend out, then?!” Face turning beet red, he added, “You’re a real piece of plastic, ain’t ya, Connor?”

Sensing that the situation was steadily rising out of hand, Hank slowly stood to his feet.

Shaking his head in anger, Connor cried out vehemently, “It’s not that I have some sense of misogamy, Gavin,” he clarified as patiently as he could, “I just don’t feel too pleased with the notion that I have to play house and family for you, while you laugh your way off to the bank after we fool your widowed mother!!”

As he returned back to his work, Hank stepped around the desk, and before Gavin could lash out and attack Connor, he grabbed the shorter male around his shoulders, and he gently guided him out of the mail room. “Step outside my office, Reed,” he lightly joked, and as he steadied Gavin in the hallway, he leaned against him and sighed a small, sad sigh. “Reed,” he began in a stern tone of voice almost like a parent, “you can’t continue harassing Connor about this, and I think you know that.”

Gavin gaped at him blankly for a moment, and then growled out in rage, “He’s such a prick! I need help right now, and he’s just pretending this shit doesn’t affect him at all!”

“That’s because it _doesn’t_ affect him, Gavin,” Hank pressed out, ever luculent and personable. “It’s not really his business, and quite frankly, it ain’t mine either!!”

Shaking out of his ‘aggressive mode’, an almost innocent and childlike expression fell over Gavin’s face as he got up real close in Hank’s face. “Then why do you care?” he asked so softly that it nearly went missed by Hank the first time.

For a moment, the older male was just as frozen as Gavin had been earlier. His eyes seemed to almost gloss over with tears, but he sniffed as he shrugged coldly and stuffed his large hands in his jean pockets deeply. “Well, shit, Reed,” he chuckled, switching back to using Gavin’s last name. “I don’t know! I just…” He looked over at Gavin once, eyebrows rising as he spat out, “…I just don’t want ya feelin’ so bad all the time, plus, you were giving me a damn headache back there.”

Gavin snorted, “Don’t fuckin’ patronize me, Anderson; it won’t work, and I don’t need your pity, so you can shove it right up your—”

“I do apologize for interrupting,” came a deep, rich voice, and Gavin and Hank both knew whom it belonged to immediately. It was Nines.

They both stared over almost far too slowly at Nines, eyeing him carefully, as if seeing him for the first time ever before. Their eyes were wide with fear, but in a jiffy, they broke away from their disturbed facial expressions.

Nines eyed the closed door, and he said, “I need to enter the mail room for a moment.”

Gavin huffed out, “Then do it?”

Glaring at him, Hank merely tugged Gavin out of the way. “Go ahead, Nines.”

“Thanks.”

As the android barely opened the door, a mighty roar came forth at them, followed by a few letters flying out into the hallway violently.

“FOR THE LAST TIME! I DON’T WANT TO MARRY YOU, EVEN IF IT IS FOR PRETENSE, GAV—oh…sorry, Nines…”

Simultaneously, Gavin and Hank both exchanged uncomfortable glances, and then Nines took a few steps back. Awkwardly and stiffly, he turned his neck over to Gavin, and he tilted his head at the shorter male as he ground out, “I…you…” His LED light blinked red and yellow, and as the colors went through the cycle of their patterns, Hank rolled his eyes and tugged on his ponytail.

“Fuck it,” he eventually snapped out, “I’m not going to deal with this right now.” He bent down and picked up the mail Connor had thrown into the hallway, while Nines’ right eye twitched a few times before he was able to compose himself.

Turning to the door, he barely grabbed the handle, when Hank yanked the door shut and cried out, “Not now, Nines; I think Gavin needs to talk to you about something very important.” Closing the door quietly behind himself, he made sure to motion over at Nines with the jerky and twitchy jabs of his head and neck.

Gavin was left all alone with Nines in the hall, afterwards.

When the lights and air vents above hummed, buzzed and sang out, Gavin knew the silence had been too heavy. Shuffling his feet, he couldn’t believe he finally found his voice when he whispered out, “Can we t-talk somewhere else?”

Nines nodded. “Fine.”

That did very little to ease the tension in Gavin’s chest, stomach, shoulders, and neck. Worst of all, he really knew he had no time to put this as gently and break it as painlessly to Nines as he could.

Perhaps the hard way was the best method in this case.

~ѰѰѰѰѰ~

Gavin kicked at the vending machine in the third-floor hallway again when he saw that his can of Coke got stuck. To be fair, Nines had technically warned him that this vending machine wasn’t in working condition…but he didn’t listen; he never did, and listening wasn’t a skill Gavin was well known for.

Grunting when he saw his can wedged in the tiny orifice located at the bottom, he shoved his hands inside the little hole to yank it out, but it was impossible; it was stuck, truly. Not yet wanting to give up on it, he backed away while pointing at the vending machine awkwardly. “This thing’s a piece of shit, isn’t it?”

Behind him, Nines waited, staring at the Coke can. “Detective Reed,” he pushed out in a drone, “I hate to be rude, but if you wanted to just discuss the failure of the vending machine, I’m afraid I’m going to have to leave, as I have to retrieve some of my mail that got lost last week and was mixed with Captain Fowler’s.”

Right.

Gavin knew he didn’t have a lot of time to fuck around, as Nines wasn’t someone who was in favor of fucking around.

Clapping his hands together in a strange attempt at calming himself down, he sighed, “Right, okay, Nines, I’m just gonna come right out and say it bluntly, okay?”

“That’d be wise.”

“Okay…” Mentally counting down from ‘three’, Gavin took a sharp breath before wheezing out quickly, “Nines, remember how two years ago I got in the way of a shot aimed at you when we were workin’ that case where that guy took his entire family hostage?”

Not moving for a while, Nines eventually nodded. “Yes…I do…I remember everything, Detective Reed. Why do you inquire?”

Feeling his anger and irritation spiking, Gavin held up an index finger. “I’m gettin’ to that, Nines!” Counting once again down from ‘three’, he groaned, “Look, I don’t mean to be annoying or anything, but you said that you would help me if I ever needed it!”

Nines sniffed. “I recall that as well.”

More tension and awkwardness seemed to be increasing between them, but since they were already this far with progress, Gavin knew he couldn’t turn back. Pressing forward was his only option.

Closing his eyes, he hurriedly said, “Yeah, and now, I really need your help, Nines, because my mom told me that my dad’s left me a pretty good amount of money for my inheritance, but I can’t touch it unless I get married.” Pausing for a short intake of breath, he finished, “So I just need you to pretend to be my partner, because my mom frankly doesn’t care if I am gay or not, haha, but you know, I’m not gay!! I like chicks with big tits, but I’ll be honest, I find _some_ guys sexy! Never fooled around with one; I just find some dudes hot, but I think _everyone _goes through shit like that as a phase, and whoever says they don’t is a fuckin’ liar, and I think they’re secretly all out gay but they—”

“No, Gavin.”

When Gavin heard his first name coming out of Nines’ mouth, his words died on his tongue. Letting out a choked noise, he couldn’t help but gasp out in awe and shock, “Nines!! You called me by my first name?!” Laughing once, he added, “Jesus! That’s a first!!”

Nines didn’t seem to care about that. Repeating his previous statement, he replied again with, “No, Gavin.”

“No?” Gavin finally muttered out, the realization sinking into his brain, “what do you mean ‘no’?” Not in the mood of cryptic messages, he spat, “You’re saying ‘no’ to me when you didn’t hear my whole story!!”

Stepping up to him, Nines loomed tall as he retorted, “I don’t care what your story happens to be, and I’m very sorry to hear about your peculiar situation, but I refuse to help you out in this scenario.”

Now, Gavin was beyond angry. Reaching back into his pocket, he threw his letter up, and he held it before Nines’ eyes. “My dad’s dead, Nines,” he admitted coldly, hardly feeling anything even though he’d vocally stated it. “He’s gone, and he left me with an inheritance, which was the _only thing_ that cold-hearted bastard left behind for me after effectively—”

No.

He couldn’t go there, and he wouldn’t.

Not with Nines, not with anyone.

Biting down hard on his tongue, he felt tears welling up in his eyes from the pain, and it helped him distract himself from the mess he’d nearly created for himself and blindly stumbled into. Pain was now here in his mouth as opposed to in his heart…good…he felt better.

As he stood taking long, measured breaths, Nines tilted his head down at him, a brow quirked.

“I’m sorry to hear about your loss, Reed,” he switched back to using Gavin’s last name, “but I still don’t feel it’s necessary for me to play the role of your partner and trick your mother into handing you over the inheritance.” When he saw how silent Gavin still was, he opened his mouth and stated, “Might I however suggest and encourage you to seek out a lawyer to get a case going for the inheritance? Or, perhaps, would you prefer a psychiatrist to help you along the grieving process?” 

Gavin nearly threw up. He knew that for the most part, a lot of androids had been programmed to help humans in any way possible. But deviant androids typically didn’t talk like this, and he knew that Nines was really going out of his way to be as cold and detached as possible.

Bastard.

Resisting the urge to throw a mega-punch at the android, Gavin snarled, “Don’t fuckin’ be a dick, Nines! I don’t need that kind of help!”

“Then what do you require, Reed?”

Holding out his hands, Gavin slowly pushed out, “I need for you to listen to me, Nines! I know you don’t like me, and I don’t like you either, you know,” he stated factually, noticing how Nines’ lips quirked into a strange expression before his face turned passive once again.

“I’d offer you money, or a cut of the inheritance,” Gavin snorted, taking a step closer to the tall android and shivering, “but I know bribes don’t work on you guys.”

Nines hummed, “Not inaccurate.”

Pressing on, Gavin said, “Look, I just need you to help me out this _one_ time, and I swear, I’ll be in your debt forever.”

Sarcastically, Nines threw out, “Define ‘forever’, Detective Reed.”

This may have been the worst, and craziest thing Gavin was going to do, especially considering just how annoying Nines was being. What made matters worse was that he really seemed to be going out of his way to make this difficult, but Gavin had already anticipated and expected for this to happen. Trying to remain as tough and cold as the machine he’d been appealing to and begging, Gavin stood up as tall as he could. Internally, he was screaming away and cursing at his genetics for rendering him so damn short, and he threw a particularly explicit curse his stepbrother’s way for creating this damn machine and making him so tall.

When he had Nines’ undivided attention, Gavin summoned his courage and guts, and he extended a strong index finger. Jabbing it away at Nines’ sternum, he tapped away, imagining that he was using a knife to sharply pierce and stab through to Nines.

Maybe then the dense moron would grasp the context and situation.

As their eyes met, Gavin nodded and enunciated clearly as he could.

“You. Owe. Me.”

Nines snarled, but remained silent, which Gavin took as a sign to continue, and he did.

“I. Saved. You. Now, I need you to save me,” he finished the rest without resorting to a chopped, robotic way of speaking. When he backed away from Nines, the lights flickered for a moment, and then they buzzed as the hallway fell silent once again.

After an age, Nines seemed to break out of his frozen state, and he asked, “A phony relationship?”

“Yes.”

“For how long?”

“Just until my mom confirms it and I can get my damn inheritance.”

“Why do you need it so badly?”

Not minding the questions being fired away rapidly at him, he replied, “Because I don’t have enough to even get by anymore, Nines, and I need something better to rely on when I want to retire.”

It was quiet again before Nines shifted. “I see,” was his only comment, and after another pregnant pause that hung in the air, he hissed, “you’ll swear to me to come to my assistance shall I need it at _any_ given time, then?”

Gavin nodded, “Yep. I swear.”

Nines grunted deeply, “You swear?”

“You heard me,” came the almost animal-like growl, “I swear.”

…….

A flash of red was the LED light, and a dangerous flash of coldness seeped through Nines’ eyes before he gave only one curt nod. “This ends the moment you receive whatever it is you think you’re due, and then,” Nines practically had to keep himself from bursting out in anger, “…then, I wish for you to leave me alone, are we clear?”

Gavin shrugged, “I’m happy with that arrangement.”

“Fine,” blue eyes met Gavin’s own, “I’ll do it.”

A second later, the vending machine let out a rumble of a noise, and the Coke can crashed down right out of the machine and landed on the floor. The can dented badly, and as the soft drink exploded all over the floor, its sticky liquid spilled forth out of it, leaking everywhere and soaking up the clean floor.

Nines only smirked as he backed off Gavin, head held high as he announced, “It looks like you’ve received your first task, Detective Reed.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I kinda like this take on Nines!! He's not so bad, but not super nice either.


	3. Shamefully Infamous

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm really getting hooked on writing and updating this. Not sure why.

Bright and early on Friday morning, Gavin walked inside the DPD whistling a random tune he’d heard on the radio on the way to work. A steaming hot, fresh cup of coffee was held in his right hand, and in his left hand, he’d been randomly scrolling through his phone, just clearing out his chat history, looking at the news, weather forecast, and other random things just to kill time. It wasn’t even half past eight, and he prided himself on being super early for once.

But something was off…

Gavin was a rather decent detective, and it hardly took him much of an effort to notice that everything was absolutely dead silent around him. It was as if a spell had been placed in the DPD, and everyone within it had been a victim of this petrifying spell that prevented them from talking or making a sound otherwise. Glancing up from his phone, Gavin was able to confirm that while his colleagues were in today as usual for the work-day, they were all so terribly silent…and they were eyeing him warily, strangely, and some of them even looked to be…worried about him??

He wasn’t sure, as he never had been able to fully read people accurately, but something _really_ was off today.

Stopping in his tracks abruptly, Gavin peeked over his own shoulder. Nope. No one was there.

So it hadn’t been a goofy, pathetic excuse for a ‘Halloween scare’ or prank?

No…his colleagues look sickly, pale, and almost worried as they only stared at him with wide eyes.

Did he have something on his face??? He hoped not, but he knew that before he’d left his apartment that morning, like any other day, he’d showered, shaved, brushed his teeth, combed his hair back, and done everything properly in terms of his health and hygiene…what was it, then??

Puzzled, the bewildered detective turned to stare over at Hank and Connor when they exited the Break Room. Making sure to stop Hank just as he approached his own desk, Gavin pointed over at the entire bullpen, halls, and some of the other offices with people lingering about, their eyes cast over at Gavin eerily. “What’s with them?” he asked in a gentle tone of voice, trying not to grow angry and become vitriolic if he didn’t know the entire story or situation, yet.

Connor and Hank simply gazed over at the frozen and petrified officers, detectives, and other employees, and Connor shrugged. “Don’t know,” he answered Gavin swiftly, “they were like that since we got here.”

Gavin chewed on his lower lip, and then index finger for a moment, “But what’s goin’ on, really?”

“How the fuck do we know, Reed?” Hank snapped grumpily. “I haven’t even had my coffee yet!!”

As Gavin had been caught up in the middle of spitting out a harsh reply back to Hank, Captain Fowler slammed a hand down over Gavin’s shoulder, effectively cutting off any sarcastic, acerbic reply. “Well, well, Reed,” he purred in mock delight, but as everyone in the DPD knew how their police Captain was, they weren’t foolish or dimwitted enough not to know that Captain Fowler wasn’t at all pleased or happy to see Gavin this morning.

Leaning closer into Gavin, his fingers tightened on the detective’s shoulder, squeezing him slowly like an anaconda slowly squeezing its prey to death. Eyes flashing dangerously, Captain Fowler hissed like a serpent, “What say you come down to my office for a little chat, hmm? Could you do that, Reed?” Refusing to let go of Gavin’s shoulder, Captain Fowler already steered the short detective in the direction he wanted him to go in; his office.

Together, their footsteps fell in line, and in unison, they climbed up the steps and Gavin found that Captain Fowler held open the door widely for him.

“Move it,” he ordered when Gavin paused long enough to peer over his shoulder at him, just to check if this was really happening. Glancing back at his team and co-workers, he found that they were already whispering and muttering about them, but he worked hard at trying to drive out the susurrus of their voices, otherwise, he was certain he was going to crumble and fall into abject despair.

The door had already closed, and as Gavin gazed ahead in the small office space, he found that Nines was already seated on the chair to the far-right corner before Captain Fowler’s desk. Turning around once to greet them, the expressionless android shifted his chair even further away from the vacant one Gavin knew he was going to have to occupy soon.

Captain Fowler pushed him towards it, “Park your ass right there, Reed.”

Hating that his superior often resorted to treating him and talking to him as if he were a mere child, Gavin stomped over to his chair, and he sat on the very edge of it while trying to ignore Nines. Apparently, the RK900 seemed to have the same idea, for he didn’t even regard Gavin next to himself once.

It was better, this way.

Plopping down on his own chair, Captain Fowler cracked his knuckles, then his neck, then his toes. Every time he cracked something, Gavin felt sicker and sicker. Captain Fowler seemed to show no signs of slowing down when he cracked his wrists and back, and that was precisely when Gavin decided to interject with a question.

Sitting on the edge of his seat while his hands and fingers tightly latched onto the armrests of the chair, Gavin uncomfortably coughed out, “Sir? Umm, not to be rude or anything, but I don’t want to sit here all morning listening to you cracking away at your body like you’re making popcorn.”

Nines covered his mouth with a hand, and unfortunately, due to how quickly he’d done so, Gavin was unable to see whether or not he’d been smiling, laughing, or downright trying to muffle out something sardonic and harsh.

Captain Fowler threw Gavin a most foul look. “Wise ass,” he muttered, while Nines crossed a long leg over the other and leaned back in his chair, an almost thoughtful expression crossing over his eyes while he stared at nothing and nowhere in particular.

Twiddling him thumbs, Captain Fowler opened his mouth to speak, then closed it. After opening it once again and acting almost like a fish gasping for water when placed forcefully on land, he eventually sighed out brokenly while his eyelids fluttered shut, “Gavin, I’m going to ask you a question, here, but seeing as you’re one of the most fiery men I’ve ever met, I’m going to have to encourage you to remain calm and just try to answer me clearly so we can get to the bottom of this, okay?”

Now, Gavin was beyond suspicious.

Peeking over at Nines, he found that the austere android was already offering him a withering look. Unsure of what to make of it, Gavin turned back to Captain Fowler. “Okay, sir,” he nodded curtly, “I’ll do my best, okay?” He hoped Nines hadn’t ‘tricked’ him by stabbing him in the back and reporting him to Fowler for something as stupid as sexual harassment. He’d never be able to get out of this if that happened to be the case.

Swallowing nervously, Fowler then inhaled sharply and slowly, and finally ground through his teeth, “Have you made it a habit to sleep with your co-workers, Gavin, or am I imagining things?”

…….

The office was so silent that the noises outside were almost as loud as a rock concert.

Nines definitely had something to do with this…right?

Scowling over at the motionless android, Gavin snapped, “I don’t follow, sir.”

Captain Fowler looked to the ceiling for a moment, and then twitched in his seat. After fidgeting for a few painful moments, he spat, “First Tina Chen, and now Nines?” Shaking his head in disdain at Gavin, he added, “Never took you for a bed hopper, son.”

This time, Gavin was unable to hold back. Knowing that he was now able to draw a line between Captain Fowler’s comment and his previous chat with Nines, he was absolutely certain that the android had said far too much to Captain Fowler.

Resisting the urge to scream from the top of his lungs while chucking sharp objects at Nines, Gavin pressed out through clenched teeth, “Nines, what the hell did you say to him??”

Not even a moment was spared before Captain Fowler chimed in with, “Yes, Nines, do tell your lovely Gavin here what you were so kind to tell me.” Sarcasm dripped and spilled over everywhere and in everything, and Gavin really felt he was going to lose it if Nines decided to drag this out any longer.

Staring intently and seriously at the tall android, Gavin eyed him until he made eye contact, and then he stared down at his hands, almost admiring them pleasantly.

“Don’t worry, Gavin,” his voice shifted to a warmer tone Gavin had never heard him use before. “I know you prefer when things are ‘up front’, so I took the liberty of talking to Captain Fowler like you wanted me to do.”

Not following, Gavin asked, “What’re you ta—” He felt himself shutting the hell up when Nines lowered his leg and kneed Gavin brutally in the shin with his own powerful, sharp kneecap. Wincing in pain, Gavin switched to saying, “Oh shoot! Yeah, haha, I guess I didn’t get the chance to finish my coffee.” Staring down at it on the corner of Fowler’s desk, he made a grab for it, using it to warm his shaking, cold hands. “Umm, so remind me again, Nines,” he awkwardly fumbled for his words, “h-how did you put it again?”

Quickly answering, Nines eloquently and fluently replied, “I told Captain Fowler that we’re engaged, silly.” Staring back at Gavin, he faked a small, pleasant smile, and perhaps it could’ve done well to fool people who didn’t know him, but Gavin wasn’t a fool; he knew that inside, Nines was burning with rage.

Head and neck spinning back towards Captain Fowler, Gavin offered his superior a small, pained smile.

Evidently, Captain Fowler wasn’t too happy, and he didn’t return the smile at all. Instead, he glared on at Gavin as if the detective had spilled hot coffee all over his papers, and he sat back in his chair as he growled, “Reed, son,” he clenched his fists, rubbing them over the surface of the desk as he continued, “you know it’s not really encouraged to pursue these kind of relationships, here, but the damn android-liberation and rights movement lifted a lot of these barriers and all, but still…” Shaking his head wildly back and forth, he held out a hand before Nines. “You said you hated androids, son, and now you’re sleeping with them?!”

Turning pale, Gavin supplied hurriedly, “Err, sir, I don’t mean to say that it’s not umm…well…” Twitching and fidgeting nervously, he ended in a mumble, “…I mean to say that I—”

Cutting him off, Fowler held up a hand. “I get it, Reed; the loss of your father wasn’t easy to deal with, for one, and two, you are well within your rights to grieve in whatever way you want, even if it means sleeping around and drinking until you’ve got your head halfway down a toilet bowl.”

“Sleeping around?!” Gavin snorted, “It was just with—”

“Point is, people go through heavy shit and deal with their shit in different ways, Reed, but screwing your co-workers because it helps you get by without your dad around in your life isn’t the solution!!”

Gavin’s index finger flew up like a flag raised in the wind. “Technically, what happened with Tina was long _before_ my dad died, and we didn’t really—” Once again, he’d been stopped and prevented from talking by Nines. A sharp, pointy elbow slammed into his rib cage, and Gavin rocked and swayed a little on his chair. “The hell! Stop it!!” he cried at Nines in anger, but the android merely offered him an innocent smile, followed by an auspicious wave.

Reminding himself to keep up with the ridiculous act, Gavin smiled over at Captain Fowler for a moment, just to convince the other man that everything was fine.

Captain Fowler scoffed as he rubbed his chin and nose once, “So what Nines said was true then?”

Reluctantly, Gavin pushed past his aching heart and throbbing head, and he responded, “Yes; we intend to be married, sir.”

It sounded so odd to admit and say that out loud, and Gavin felt nauseated from it. Holding back on bringing up whatever meal he’d had since last night, he clenched his mouth shut, planted his feet firmly on the floor, and didn’t budge in his seat as he forced a smile onto his face. This was still so maddening and sickening.

With a strained sigh that depicted how affronted he was by the random, inconvenient news, Captain Fowler grabbed one of the many white envelopes sitting atop his desk, and he used it to fan himself profusely. The paper swished and crinkled as he moved it back and forth before himself, but he kept his eyes closely trained on Gavin and Nines as the clock hanging on one of the walls in his office ticked loudly.

Just when Gavin thought that he wouldn’t be able to handle the silence any longer, Captain Fowler tossed the little envelope back down onto his desk. “Fuck it.” Rubbing his chin roughly, he grunted out, “Fuck it, there’s no other way, is there?”

Gavin tried making eye contact with Nines, but the stoic android was already staring ahead at their boss in silence, so Gavin thought it was the right thing to do the same.

After what felt like forever, Captain Fowler loosened his hands, and he rested them at his sides almost limply and oddly. Eyes suddenly tired and mildly pink, he stared at Gavin first while he stated, “Take half a week off for next week, both of you.”

Immediately, Nines sputtered, “Sir?! I d-don’t understand, I’m afraid!”

Pointing crudely at his own lips, Captain Fowler spat out venomously, “I’m speaking English, Nines; it’s not that hard to piece it together.”

“I know,” the android fired back, “but I don’t think we require time off!”

Truthfully, Gavin was happier than a pig rolling in mud and shit upon hearing the news, but when he remembered that his bills wouldn’t stop coming, he felt himself slipping into a panicked zone.

Holding up a hand shyly as though he were a kid in grade school trying to get his teacher’s attention, he whispered, “Umm, sir? Jeffrey?”

Immediately taking note of the levels of inner and outer turmoil upon his face and displayed all over his body language, Captain Fowler rolled his eyes and let out a small puff of air. “Reed, relax,” he urged out, “you’ll still get paid; consider it a paid vacation or leave.”

While Gavin was able to relax for a moment, this recent ‘news’ only seemed to trouble and anger Nines. Scowling with all his might, he ran a hand along the edge of the desk before muttering out, “A paid leave, Captain?” He repeated with a serious glint in his eyes, “That sounds a lot like paid suspension to me.”

Gavin frowned for a moment, whereas Captain Fowler pointed thickly at Nines. “If you’re gonna think like that already, Nines, then perhaps this small break is good for you.”

Lips curled back in anger, Nines spat, “If you say so, sir.”

“I _do_ say so, Nines,” Captain Fowler reminded the irate android while nodding over at Gavin. “Take a break, get yourselves together, because frankly, whatever the fuck you two have going on in your personal lives, I don’t give a shit to figure out.” Rubbing his forehead, the wrinkles that could be found there seemed so profound and deep, practically marring his skin as he groaned painfully to himself. Rubbing and massaging the wrinkles away for a moment, Captain Fowler continued rubbing his forehead and temples while pressing out, “I appreciate the level of honesty that you two could come forward and talk to me, though.” This statement seemed to invoke a sense of control and calm in Nines, and he visibly relaxed and his vitriolic demeanor seemed to decrease substantially.

“Take half the week off,” Captain Fowler reiterated, “and whenever you two return to work, I’ll be expecting the same level of professionalism—” He paused, throwing a resolute glare in Gavin’s direction when he snorted upon hearing the word ‘professionalism’ spoken, “—From you _both_; don’t think that just because you two are together, that it will automatically mean you get some kind of lottery ticket and free pass into doing whatever the willy nilly fuck you want, got it?!”

Gavin practically leapt to his feet as he nodded, “Got it, sir!” He couldn’t help it; he wanted out of this office, out of this situation, out of his body and life so he could go live another less insane and less chaotic life.

Nines appeared to be feeling almost the same way, for he rose to his feet as well and straightened his black shirt down by the hem as he grunted out, “Clear enough, Captain.”

Clapping sarcastically, Captain Fowler pressed out, “Great, now please get your sorry asses out of here.”

They didn’t require much else in the way of encouragement; Nines had already fled from the office, leaving the door slowly closing after himself. The moment Gavin approached the door, however, Captain Fowler almost roared out to him, “Reed, one last thing…”

Coming to an abrupt halt, Gavin paused, turned around, and stared expectantly at Captain Fowler. “Sir?”

Pointing at his dark jacket resting on a hook in the wall next to the door, Captain Fowler barked out, “Get me my damn bottle of Advil, son, else I won’t be able to make it through the rest of the day.”

Obediently, Gavin fished out the bottle from Captain Fowler’s coat pocket, but he wasn’t above stealing one of the pills for himself, first.

~ѰѰѰѰѰ~

It’d taken Gavin almost twenty-five minutes before he was able to find Nines after his departure from Captain Fowler’s office. It was amazing just how quickly the android had chosen to disappear, but Gavin managed to track him down and locate him pacing around inside the men’s washroom on the second floor of the DPD.

It seemed Nines didn’t really care that Gavin had joined him in the small washroom, as he continuously paced about while a serious expression weighed heavily on his face. Gavin observed him in sheer silence for a few minutes, but seeing as he wasn’t at all a patient man, he soon broke down and asked Nines what on Earth was going on.

Of course, Nines didn’t answer him immediately, and that sent Gavin over the edge.

Holding his hands down to his sides in the fear of lashing out at the tall, powerful android, Gavin instead demanded, “So what the flying fuck made you think it was a wise idea telling everyone we work with that we’re ‘engaged’, Nines? Hmm?”

Casting a glare down at the floor so potently that Nines’ eyes seemed to burn holes straight through it, the angry android eventually snapped, “That’s what Ben Collins did when he got engaged to his wife, Detective. What else was I to do?”

“That was a relationship between two _humans_, for one.” He held up a finger, and then added a second to the first as he counted the points off, “Two, Ben is married to a _woman_ and has been known for being a straight guy all his life!” He was stopped when Nines spat at him with a softly pressed out, “As if that matters.”

“It does,” Gavin barked at him. “It matters a great deal, and thirdly, you moron, he—” The door suddenly swung wide open with a loud, echoing creak, and Gavin and Nines fell silent immediately. When they gazed up to see who had interrupted them, they found two other men waltzing into the washroom.

One of these men happened to unfortunately be a tall, muscular, brown eyed, dark-haired man named Mischa Barker. He was a new recruit in the DPD and worked in HR, and standing next to him was another man of almost the same height, only slightly shorter. This man was even worse than Mischa; he was a brunette male at least ten years younger than Gavin, he was far more aggressive, and unlike Mischa, he wasn’t entirely new to working in the DPD. This man was named Gary Foster, and he was slightly somehow related to Captain Allen from the S.W.A.T. force.

A man of privilege, no doubt, no less, Gary walked around with an air of self-imposed superiority unlike anything Gavin had ever seen before. This had been the exact, specific reason why Gavin despised people who never had to lift a finger for anything in their lives; they often expected things to continuously come to them freely just because they were entitled to it and owed it.

Gary glared menacingly at Gavin, while Mischa looked quite uncomfortable and seemed ready to leave. However, Gary insisted on being extra cocky this morning. Sauntering up to Gavin, he snorted derisively and held quite the arrogant, judgmental gleam in his eyes while ‘sizing up’ both Gavin and Nines. Although Gary was a lot shorter in comparison to Nines, the over-confident male still didn’t seem to care much.

Pausing for a moment while he looked at Gavin from head to toe, he snickered cruelly as he grunted deeply, “Never took you for an android fucker, Reed…” Light brown eyes glinting dangerously and in a sinister way that warded off any attack Gavin was already planning, Gary quickly chimed in with, “Hey, if you two were in the middle of ‘somethin’, don’t let Mischa and I stop you, by the way.”

Gavin was seething and fuming, but Nines already had his response on the tip of his tongue. Almost robotically, he rushed out with, “Mind your own business, Gary; it’s rude to just not only barge in on someone’s conversation, but to also poke fun at a situation you have zero knowledge of.” He then snorted crudely, “Well, that’s only a matter of sinking lower.”

“Maaan,” Gary hooted, “you’re pretty loyal to the end, aren’t ya, Nines?” Although Mischa was already nudging and tugging at Gary’s shirt to get him heading in the opposite direction, the other man insisted on making an ass of himself as he added, “I guess I’m the same way whenever I’m getting a good piece of ass, I get it!”

The moment that had escaped his mouth, Nines nearly flew forth at him. Luckily, Gavin’s reflexes were rather quick, and he grabbed onto Nines’ arms and held him back before he could advance on Gary. At the same time, Mischa had already tugged Gary backwards, and using his free hand, he hurriedly yanked open the bathroom door, and they were slowly retreating.

“Look, man,” Mischa began softly, “whatever you’re into, it’s fine, but please try to keep your relationship to yourselves; some of us aren’t too comfortable with two guys being together and expressing affection, okay?”

“What the fu—”

It was too late; the bathroom door fully closed, and the other two males were soon long gone. The longer Nines and Gavin stood stewing in silence, the angrier Nines seemed to be getting. Practically wrenching his arm out of Gavin’s grip, he pushed himself as far away from Gavin as possible, while the shorter male gestured at the door in complete shock. “Can you believe those two?” he spat out in disbelief, “bunch of homophobic—”

The abashed Nines interrupted him, “You should leave, Detective Reed.”

That had completely thrown Gavin off, and he blinked a few times in shock at Nines before he was able to find himself and continue. “Huh?!” he spat out inelegantly, “what the heck’s your deal?? I was lookin’ all over for you, and trust me, that was really tough because you were impossible to find!!”

“I know,” came the cold drawl of a reply, “when I don’t wish to be found, I make a good effort not to be found or discovered.”

“No shit,” Gavin snapped back almost childishly, running his hands through his hair and effectively messing it up a lot. Staring at the ceiling, he folded his hands together and clasped them around his neck, only just then noticing how tense his muscles were. Massaging them gently, he asked, “So, where do we go from here?”

Unperturbed, Nines intoned, “We go our separate ways, Detective Reed! I have to attend to my tasks, and I’m sure that prior to this, you had your own life to live, no?”

As he’d been making his way towards the door, Gavin slid his body purposefully before Nines, blocking his way.

Glaring at him for it, Nines hissed, “Get the hell out of my way, Reed.”

Not put off by the minor verbal lashing, Gavin shook his head. “Nines, when you agreed to help me, I think you failed to notice that in order to play this part well, you gotta do some ‘research’ or some shit.”

Immediately picking on how absurd that statement sounded, Nines snorted, “Research? Do enlighten me then, Reed.”

How else was he to put it? He knew next to nothing about Nines, and Nines knew jack squat about him, yet they were supposedly engaged?? This wouldn’t work out…

“Well?” Nines jabbed at him when he’d been silent for long enough. “Go on then, Detective Reed,” he purred, “I’m just _dying_ to know what you’ve planned for me.”

Since he’d come along this far, Gavin tossed caution and his notions of being guarded away as he held his head up and said, “Let me come over to your place for a bit, just to see how you live and all that.”

When he saw the reaction coming from Nines, he really, _really _wished technology was so far advanced that creations such as a time-turner or a time machine were readily available to him. He could really use one right about now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Seriously, I've said it before, but I have to reiterate it here!  
I love this version of Nines.


	4. One Stupid Person

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In which we dive a little deeper into how Nines relates to Gavin, and how he lives.  
Very interesting chapter, methinks.

“You’re not to touch anything, you’re not to make a mess, you’re not to leave your belongings just hanging off my furniture, and if you do get permission to grab something of mine, make sure it’s cleaned afterwards, and then returned back to its rightful place.”

Nines’ warnings flew over Gavin’s head as he stood gaping in the front hallway leading into Nines’ large bachelor pad. He hadn’t been expecting for it to be as neat and orderly as this, nor had he expected for it to be pretty decently sized in comparison to the dump he lived in. He supposed that Nines just catered to a fancier lifestyle, but did it ever suit and fit him well. Everything within the place seemed to speak to Nines’ personality, and it seemed to all reflect just how he behaved and carried himself at work.

Naturally, the apartment lacked any furniture and appliances in the kitchen, and rather than having much of a kitchen at all, Nines merely used that room for the purposes of storing away large, exotic plants, statues, strange models he’d perhaps created himself of townships, boats, trains, as well as plenty of paintings and drawings up on the walls.

Gesturing at a few of the lego-like models, Gavin pointed out, “These are pretty neat, Nines, did you make them yourself?”

Not even really gazing at them, Nines offered him a half-nod, “Yes, it’s a weird hobby I have, I suppose.”

“Nah, it’s not weird,” Gavin assured him while he moved along to stare at a few white plants in fancy glass pots. “Woah, what’re these?”

Nines sardonically spat, “Plants, Detective Reed.”

Grinding his teeth together for a moment in irritation, Gavin quickly calmed himself down before trying it again. “No,” he chuckled mindlessly as he held up one of the plant leaves. “I meant to ask what kinds of plants are these?”

“Hmm,” Nines gently pushed his hand out of the way, a clear reminder that Gavin wasn’t to touch anything. “This is an Arum Lily,” he explained gently, “evergreen in sheltered spots, these plants produce the most elegant swan-like white flowers in spring and summer.”

Gavin frowned as he pointed out the dark windows, “But it’s fall, Nines…”

“I’m aware of the current change in season, Detective Reed,” came the low growl, indicating that Nines’ patience was starting to wear thin. “So what’s your point?”

Already feeling argumentative, Gavin snapped coldly, “You said these guys bloom in the spring and summer.” He reminded the tall android sarcastically, “Since that is the case, doesn’t seem like they’re gonna be super productive in this season, huh?”

Nines glared at him for a moment before he replied simply with, “That’s why they’re indoors, Detective; I usually adjust the temperature here to suit their needs.”

Not really desiring to argue on an empty stomach, Gavin rolled his eyes. “Yeah, sure, whatever, Nines.”

It was then silent for a few minutes save for the occasional sound of the spray bottle spraying out water for the plants as Nines moved about taking care of his plants while Gavin studied the rest of the bachelor apartment. He found that nothing else really seemed to be that interesting; Nines had two closets, one by the front door, and one in his bedroom, and he kept plenty of dark colored, expensive clothes and shoes in them. Everything was neat and matched. His drawers and dressers were clear of anything on their surface and dust-free, and nothing seemed out of place.

Nothing personal had been left out in the open, and Gavin felt a little surge of envy seeping its way into his system. He’d always tried being this neat and tidy, but he found he couldn’t keep up with it longer than three days at the most. Everything around him was always in shambles, but he attributed that to his own laziness and the fact that he didn’t care for cleaning as much as he should have.

While he paced around Nines’ bedroom, he called out to the android, “You don’t have any pets?”

Nines stopped spraying his plants for a moment before elucidating to Gavin, “No, I do not.”

“Meh,” Gavin grunted out in a half-assed reply. “Pets aren’t for everyone, but I find cats are easier to take care of.”

“You’re a cat person?” Nines inquired. “Odd, I thought you’d like dogs, more.”

Stepping out of the almost empty room, Gavin soon made his way back towards the plants in the ‘kitchen’. Standing next to Nines, he sighed, “Nah, I picked up a stray a while ago, and she liked that I would set out food for her.” Staring at the plants and the various drops of water decorating their leaves, he continued, “When she felt comfortable enough to trust me, I let her in, but she’s more of an ‘outdoor’ cat, still. Eventually, she wound up pregnant, and she had a pretty huge litter of kittens!!”

Setting the spray bottle down on the table, Nines extended a hand and stroked one of his colorful plant leaves almost thoughtfully. “I see,” he commented softly, “one big family, then?”

Family…the word was so very odd and foreign to Gavin. Realizing then that he hadn’t used the word or heard it spoken in a while, he swallowed back rising bile into his throat. Shrugging nonchalantly, he said, “It’s whatever it is, I guess.” He knew this was a rather sore, rough topic for himself to get into, and as always, he felt that skating around it and sweeping it under the rug was far safer than addressing it.

His therapist would sure be proud.

If Nines had noticed Gavin’s sense of discomfort, he thankfully didn’t point it out or comment on it; he merely put away the spray bottle on a shelf mounted high on one of the walls. As he did this, Gavin’s stomach let out a deep grumble, and Nines glared over at Gavin for it.

Petting his stomach shyly, Gavin chuckled, “Sorry, I know you don’t have food or anything, but you don’t suppose I could order in a pizza with some beer, do ya, Nines?”

Not even hesitating, Nines threw out, “No, Detective Reed.”

Woah. Now this was a first.

Feeling a little disturbed, Gavin cleared his throat, hoping Nines had been kidding at first. “Umm…Nines, do you expect me to starve?” he mildly joked, but Nines didn’t laugh or chuckle at all; he mainly glared heatedly at Gavin.

“It’s not the pizza I have an issue with, Detective Reed,” he responded so softly that Gavin had a hard time hearing him. “I won’t allow you to drink alcohol in my home, if it’s alright with you.”

Snorting, Gavin exclaimed, “Wooow, you’re a bitter prude, aren’t ya, Nines?” Waving a hand in the air, he spat, “I don’t drink to the point where I’m shitfaced, you know, so what gives?”

Inching closer to him, Nines took full advantage of his height over Gavin. As he effortlessly towered over the shorter male, his eyes grew dark as he sneered and spoke out, “Leave the alcohol out of it, unless you want to leave, now.”

No, no he didn’t, but not because he enjoyed Nines’ company, not because he enjoyed the conversation, not even because he needed to learn or know more; he needed to take the next step into making this seem ‘legitimate’ enough to his mother. Gavin knew she was going to expect a reply to the letter at some point, and he figured that the sooner he broke the news to her, the better it would be for himself.

Nines stared at him blankly for a moment, “Something’s on your mind,” he pointed out accurately, and it made Gavin’s skin crawl due to how correct he’d been in stating that.

Not bothering to hide it, Gavin nodded, but did he really want to get into every little detail!? No…he wasn’t ready for that, and he wasn’t ready to open up to another person. No way. The last time he’d done so, he’d gotten so badly hurt, that it made his stomach churn even thinking about that experience. While Nines was owed some small fraction of an explanation, Gavin refused to go there. Opening up always came back to bite him in the ass, so why bother?

Instead, he randomly gazed around the bachelor pad, and as he stared about, trying hard not to look like a complete moron, he noticed something he hadn’t exactly picked up on before.

No mirrors.

Immediately vocalizing his thoughts, he grunted, “You have no mirrors, Nines, why?” It wasn’t a lie; not even the bathroom had a mirror, and it was used for storing boxes, other older furniture, as well as extra soil for the plants, Gavin had discovered earlier.

Not a single mirror was in sight.

Coolly, Nines muttered, “I don’t really require one.”

“Bullshit,” Gavin threw back. “Connor uses them all the damn time to get a good look at himself before and during work, and you can’t be any different, Nines.”

…….

Something really was terribly off, but Gavin supposed that maybe he was making a huge deal out of it!! Perhaps Nines was in the middle of redecorating, and he needed to go out and buy mirrors? Maybe he forgot about them?? No, this wasn’t a creature that often forgot anything…

“Nines?”

No expressions were present on the android’s face, and he didn’t seem to be affected in the slightest by the comment Gavin had made in regards to the aberration in his home. After a few stretched out moment in silence, Nines eventually whispered, “You want something else from me?”

Gavin knew how to take the hint. He had to mind his own damn business, so he did.

Holding up both hands, he hurriedly cried, “Yeah, you see, my mom’s not gonna just buy that you and I are gettin’ hitched when we don’t really have proof of it…”

The adroit android nodded, “Then let’s create some of that proof.”

“How?” Gavin’s question seemed to trouble Nines, but the android calmly stared at one of Gavin’s jean pockets in almost half of a non-verbal reply.

After a moment, he stated, “I’m sure you have a phone, right Detective?”

Patting the lump in his jean pocket, Gavin nodded, “I gotcha, you want me to take a pic of us together, right?”

Almost reluctantly, Nines shot out, “There’s no need to speculate; you’re a rather great detective.”

Whether that comment had been sarcastic or not was open for debate. When he had more time, Gavin promised himself he would make a note to come back to it, but for now, all he was concerned about was convincing his mother that his ‘relationship’ with Nines was real. And he knew they would have to really make a good effort; Carrie Reed wasn’t a woman easily fooled and tricked. All her life, she’d been a fighter, and over the years, due to her harsh life experiences, she’d accrued more than mere ‘book smart’ knowledge.

The sixty-two-year-old woman had gotten pregnant with Gavin at the age of twenty-three. When she turned twenty-four, she’d had to handle raising Gavin while also supporting her husband at the time, Felix Reed.

In comparison to his father, Gavin really admired and respected his mother. Carrie Moser had obtained her bachelor’s degree in biology before she’d turned twenty, due to skipping ahead a few times in high school and taking her entrance exams for University early. She was something of a genius among the rest of her class, and she’d accrued and accumulated at least five grand in student scholarships when she applied for University. She had the option of attending four different Universities that wanted someone of her intellectual caliber so badly, and in the end, after having a difficult time selecting a University, Carrie settled on attending Columbia University in New York.

After completing her bachelor’s degree, during the summer leading up to the first year of her master’s program, Carrie worked a part-time summer job planting trees and attending to the gardens around the University. As she’d been working, she noticed a rather eccentric twenty-seven-year-old college dropout working as a handyman around the yards as well. In less than a few weeks, after shy glances, furtive looks, and a few frivolous gestures, Felix Reed introduced himself to Carrie Moser, and the pair hit it off.

At the time, twenty-one-year-old Carrie wasn’t as experienced with boys and relationships. After a few months of dating, the nature of her relationship with Felix shifted and buckled down under familial pressure, namely coming from Carrie’s father. Unable to abide by the notion of his smart little daughter dating a college dropout, Carrie’s father forbade her to see Felix. Due to being supported by her father throughout her education years, Carrie sadly obeyed.

Cutting Felix out of her life hadn’t been easy. The love-stricken youth called her relentlessly, followed her to her classes, and sometimes would send her gifts in the mail or leave them on her front doorstep.

One winter morning before Carrie’s exams, her parents had been thinking of suing Felix for hounding and harassing their daughter, when Carrie discovered she had a terrible flu. This flu lasted for weeks, and didn’t seem to leave even after two months…

After a trip to the hospital and a few ultrasounds, the nurses determined that Carrie was already three months pregnant. Needless to say, her parents were devastated, and after swallowing his pride, Carrie’s father asked her if she wanted to really be with Felix. She’d answered ‘yes’, and that was it.

The next time Felix saw Carrie, her father warned him that if he didn’t marry his daughter, take care of her and their baby, he would personally kick Felix’s ass all over America. That hadn’t been the best way to break it to a future parent that he was going to be a dad, but it’d happened.

A wedding had been already planned, but until Carrie started really showing signs of her pregnancy, she attended classes in person, and then when she hit more than five months of pregnancy, she had to switch to online courses and programs. The young woman had been fearless and strong enough to brave it all through, and that very summer after her final exams, she got married to Felix Reed.

Gavin was born in the autumn right after, exactly on October 7th,.

Life hadn’t been too bad for the Reeds at first. It seemed that Carrie’s success had been an influential aspect on Felix’s mind and life, and he went back to school not long after Gavin was born. But when Felix had returned to his education habits, Carrie had to look after Gavin. The previous ambitions she’d set out for herself had been put on hold, and she became a full-time mom. Still, she didn’t mind it, and she even pitched in and supported Felix financially while he worked towards his degree in law.

After successfully completing and passing his BAR exam, Felix Reed became an official corporate lawyer. It was after that point that Carrie and Felix truly grew apart, and much of life from then on was a blur to Gavin.

An intentionally created blur, no less, but a blur he didn’t care to remember and see beyond. The most of it revolved around his father signing up a contract with some researchers and scientists who wanted to set up a company around conducting research into the possibility of creating and developing new and highly intelligent AI, and then one thing led to another, and his father was rarely home. He sent tons of money and toys for Gavin, but how was that a good substitute for being a father?? Gavin needed his father back then during those crucial years; not toys and games.

But where was his father?

He couldn’t remember well enough, but he knew that his mother and father constantly argued whenever they saw each other, and his mother began looking older faster, while his father seemed to be at the height of his career. It wasn’t long after that he came forward and admitted to Gavin’s mother that he’d been having an affair with one of his clients, a woman by the name of Ella Kamski.

That was the very day Gavin’s heart broke, and his mother’s world had been torn apart.

Felix Reed was having an affair, and he was going to leave Carrie for Ella and the future they’d already planned together.

He didn’t want to remember anything else; he didn’t want the pain associated with the memories. To remember was to hurt, and he was beyond hurting. What good would hurting do him?? It would only slow him down, make him fail in his plans, and he wouldn’t be able to take the money his father owed him, everything else considered.

Gavin found himself toying with his phone in an attempt at breaking out of the awkward, strange silence that had permeated in the air around himself and Nines. Staring incessantly at him, Nines eventually turned his eyes down to the phone Gavin held.

Gavin held it up once, flashing it in the air before the android’s eyes as he asked, “So, where do you wanna do this?”

Nines gazed around his ‘living room’, if it could be called that, and motioning over at a black, glass coffee table sitting before a loveseat, he suggested, “Here is fine.”

“Sweet,” Gavin immediately sat down, but he carelessly assumed he was at his own place, and he spread his legs obscenely widely as he made himself comfortable enough. Eyeing him warily, Nines cleared his throat, and when Gavin saw him purposefully avoiding staring at how he’d been seated, he collected himself and made room for him on the other seat.

Scooting to the side awkwardly, he pressed out, “Sorry…”

Nines didn’t comment on it. Instead, he sat down next to Gavin, and as the other male held up the phone before their faces for the selfie, Nines frowned.

Once Gavin loaded up the camera app, he saw how badly Nines was scowling, and he set his phone down. “Nines,” he coughed, “not to be weird, but people don’t really take angry selfies…it’s not common, you know?”

Sighing warily, Nines commented, “And since when do ‘_couples_’ take photos of a casual nature?”

Gavin stared at him blankly, and it seemed to annoy Nines to no end. Tapping his fingers on the armrest of his side of the loveseat, he elucidated sternly, “I don’t think your mother would really believe that after thirty-eight years of not having a partner, you’d select a male, for one, an android, I might add, and also,” his yellow LED seemed to speak out for him more than his knotted eyebrows did sternly, “I don’t think she would buy into all this given the fact that her first source of proof is us sitting together as if we are mere chums.”

Feeling slightly sick, Gavin retorted, “You’re weird, Nines.” Keeping his distance from the android while eyeing him with caution, he added, “If you’re sayin’ we have to start makin’ out for the sake of one fuckin’ picture, then you’re out of your fuckin’ mind!!”

The words had also affected Nines, it seemed, only he was better at shrugging them off and not reacting so emotionally compared to Gavin. An insolent look was upon his face as he sighed out, “That’s not really what I meant, Reed,” the irritated android pushed on, “I just mean that there has to be a level of intimacy here to make it believable.”

Torn between spitting out that Nines merely wanted to kiss him as a joke and just going along with it to get it done, Gavin felt his brain quickly conjuring up another solution in no time. He’d taken photos with sports members and other buddies that were pretty ‘close’ in terms of the guys all hugging each other or having their arms around each other’s shoulders!! There was no harm in replicating that!!

Hurriedly getting into position for it, Gavin yanked Nines’ arm around his neck and shoulder, but before he could loop it there, Nines asked, “What’re you doing?”

Gavin didn’t like being put on the spot, but he supposed he should’ve explained this a bit earlier. Still, as he adjusted himself to sit closer to Nines, he explained in annoyance, “Look, I had a good number of friends in college and in the police academy, and we always took pics like this; it’s nothing to get your panties in a twist over.”

He struggled exponentially with getting Nines’ long arm to hang over his shoulder. In their reflections glaring back at them in the camera’s photo preview, Gavin felt that nothing they did seemed… ‘natural’. Nines’ arm hung sluggishly off Gavin’s neck, while the short detective blushed deep red. Once or twice when Gavin tried adjusting the long limb and shifting it, it appeared that Nines was choking him instead of being close and intimate…

It wasn’t working, and Gavin soon gave it up.

“Fuck it,” he grunted, shoving the android’s arm off himself. “I think we should just—” he froze when Nines leaned into him so abruptly. Swallowing down his comment, Gavin was eye-to-eye with Nines, and he whimpered out, “Nines?? Why’re you s-so close to me?”

Instead of answering straight way, Nines grabbed the hand wielding Gavin’s phone. Whispering to the confused male, he suggested, “Just smile a little, and relax your body posture; you’re too rigid.”

Well, that went without saying when Nine was so darn close! How could he be anything except for rigid?!

“Nines, I think this is really—” A hand strongly pushed his head to the side, and then Nines closed the gap between them even more. Gavin knew he was sweating and his heart was racing, but he heard Nines encouraging him to smile, and so he forced one of the most awkward, half-assed smiles onto his face.

Holding up the phone, Nines angled the shot perfectly, and as he lay a free hand on Gavin’s lap, he pressed his lips directly over Gavin’s right cheek. The moment his cold lips made contact with Gavin’s skin, the detective let out a disgruntled noise, but kept his smile plastered onto his face. He only prayed Nines would hurry.

The camera light flashed for a moment, and in less than a second, this moment had been forever captured and immortalized in time. It was on a record, now, and it wouldn’t ever go away.

As soon as he confirmed for himself that the picture had been taken, he broke away from Nines almost violently. 

“Should we do another?” Nines asked, and when Gavin threw him a heated, dirty glare, he clarified, “to see which one is the best.”

Rolling his eyes, Gavin then shrugged bitterly. “Fine, but no more kissing!”

They were both stuck for a moment on what pose to pull next, but Gavin had an idea. Quickly grabbing onto Nines’ shapely chin in a strong hand, he pretended to be stroking or caressing Nines, and he smiled as he growled, “Ready?”

Barely nodding, Nines turned his head as far away from Gavin as he could. This bothered and angered Gavin, as it was quite a difficult feat managing to hold the phone, angle the shot properly so they could both fall into the frame and view, and he had a tough time smiling throughout it all.

Practically yanking Nines’ head back, he eventually snapped impatiently, “Turn in the other way, dipshit, stop looking over there!”

Nines then proved that he was an inveterate struggler, and it took Gavin nearly another minute before the android finally turned and allowed him to hold onto his chin while they both smiled.

The second photo had been taken, and Gavin was more than happy to move away from Nines. Wiping his hands on his jeans, he stared down at the photos, comparing them both together for a while. He soon found that there was another dilemma; they were both pretty passable, and he had no idea which of the two to send to his mother.

But did he want Nines’ opinion?

Not really.

Saving them into his pictures folder in his phone, he then quickly composed a text message to his mother while Nines awkwardly stared at a wall.

As Gavin’s fingers flew and danced along the screen, he found the words came to him so naturally.

_I got your letter, and I gotta tell you that I’m already seein’ someone. In fact, the person I’m seein’ proposed to me a while ago, and I said yes to him. _

_You heard! I’m marrying a guy, but I don’t think you’d care. You never gave a shit anyway, but I just wanted to send off these two pics with him. _

_Here you go._

He’d then attached the two photos into the text document, and he sent it off without another word or thought. It was good enough; it was real. That’s what counted, and he knew his mother would hound him for it later and demand to know all sorts of things, but they could cross that bridge when it came to it another day. For now, he needed food.

Stomach grumbling demandingly, Gavin yawned, stretched, and then moved to the edge of his seat to stand. “Well,” he drawled out tiredly, “I’m gonna get outta here, Nines, but since we’ve got some time off, and since my mom will more than likely want to talk to you, can I have your number or something to let you know about that shit beforehand so we have enough time to prepare?”

Now, this was a simple request, at least to Gavin. However, Nines looked deeply troubled and shaken, unable to move or say anything for some time. This was wrong, and Gavin immediately took it personally.

Staring blankly at Nines, he asked, “Did I say something weird?”

Suddenly, Nines snapped out of his reverie, and only scowled at Gavin. “Why do you require my number?” came his odd question, and Gavin yanked on the ends of a few bits of hair on his skull.

Praying he had the ability not to lose it, he pressed out, “Nines, I explained it for you just a second ago, and I know you heard me!”

As Nines opened his mouth to argue back, Gavin blurted, “And don’t bother tellin’ me you don’t have a phone; I’ve seen you use it before at work.” Standing back once he’d announced this, he crossed his arms over his chest, and he seemed ever so proud of himself as he smirked confidently down at Nines.

Realizing he was somehow ‘stuck’, Nines sat back in the seat he was currently occupying, and as he reached back into his black dress pants pockets, he produced and withdrew from them a thin iPhone. Not even staring at Gavin, he hurriedly blurted out, “My number’s on the top here.” Tossing the phone at Gavin, he finished in an acidic tone, “Don’t bother me at all hours of the day; this is for emergencies only, do you understand me, Reed?”

Gavin began adding the number onto his phone. “Uh huh, heard ya loud and clear, Nines.” Checking it over once quickly when he was done, he threw it back at Nines, and the android caught it perfectly.

Smugly, Gavin turned on his heels, waving his phone in the air as if it were his hand. This method of substitution suited him well, however, and he called out, “See ya, Nines.”

He hadn’t even bothered to care enough to close the door behind himself upon exiting the android’s apartment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gavin's mother's backstory was neat, and thank you Stephen King (if you catch my reference)  
The selfies Gavin and Nines took must be hilarious, too.


	5. Saturday Morning’s Texts

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gavin's a brat when he texts, apparently.

Some wishes in life were great when they came true.

Wishing for a brand-new Xbox or PS4 for Christmas or on one’s birthday and actually receiving it? That was a wonderful wish come true.

Wishing that your boss would give you a raise or a promotion? Also an equally wonderful wish if it ever came true.

Wishing that someone you deeply desire and want to get close to romantically and finally having that person come forward and admit holding mutual feelings for you? A beautiful, perfect wish come true!!

But wishing that he could have time off work and just laze about the house while doing nothing had been a destructive wish that had backfired not even halfway into the next morning for Gavin Reed.

Saturdays usually were days Gavin slept in, but on this particularly dull, specifically gloomy Saturday morning, the kittens absolutely refused to allow him this luxury he felt he deserved after all the crap he’d been through. At first morning light, the cool autumn air woke him as it breezed into the apartment due to Gavin often and habitually leaving the windows open for the mother cat to come in and out as she pleased. Now that her kittens were already a few weeks old, she didn’t need to watch them constantly, and she’d trusted Gavin enough to leave them in his care while she went out to hunt.

Only, Gavin despised ‘kitten sitting’. The tiny, orange tabby kittens were nothing short of loud, their exuberant mewls and cries already ringing melodiously in Gavin’s ears. Turning on the radio helped, and as he got up and went about his morning routine when forcing himself to sleep in wasn’t an option, he soon found that time moved way too slowly.

His coffee had been prepared already, there was nothing interesting on the news or on the TV, the kittens were busy playing with each other and wanted nothing to do with him, and he was far too lazy to clean. Well, his apartment needed some cleaning, but Gavin supposed doing the laundry was more important. After all, he needed his clothes for work.

Taking a quick trip down the street to the laundromat, he waited there with his second cup of coffee until his clothes were washed and dried. By the time he reached his apartment again, it wasn’t even ten in the morning.

Why was time always going by so slowly for him when he didn’t want it to?! Had he really been _that_ busy at work not to notice the time behaving so erratically?!

Gavin was beyond bored, now. He really had nothing to do, so he sat back down in the kitchen while playing some random online games with his phone.

Time well spent.

However, it didn’t do much for him aside from draining his phone’s battery faster, pissing him off with how many rounds he’d lost in Candy Crush, and just making the kittens go nuts when their large, pointy ears took in the sounds emanating from the phone and the game.

Pointless.

“Why the fuck do teens play these games?!” Gavin asked himself, closing the app angrily, and then scrolling through his list of contacts. Not wanting to admit it to anyone else outside of his apartment, but that list had grown considerably shorter and shorter as the years passed. He’d originally kept a few exes on his phone just for the sake of being friends with them later and chatting them up, but as the old saying went: being friends with an ex was like asking your kidnapper or abductor to keep in touch with you once they let you go.

But he was _so_ damn bored that he was seriously about to lose his mind!!

Scrolling through his call log, he found that he couldn’t recognize any of the numbers that had either called him or he’d called recently, aside from pizzerias and other fast-food joints.

But there had to be someone to talk to!!

Thinking quickly, Gavin remembered his last ex from almost seven years ago. Her name was Felicity Hardy, and last time he’d checked, she’d gotten married and had given birth to two sons…shit…that wouldn’t do at all.

Knowing his other exes had all blocked him, Gavin’s eyes landed on one last contact at the bottom of his tiny ‘list’.

He’d named this person ‘Fuck Stick Plastic Prick’, and as he read the name out loud, he had to pause and have a good laugh when it came to his sense of humor and knack for rhyme. ‘Fuck Stick Plastic Prick’ was of course Nines, but he’d been warned not to pester his work partner last night…

Emergencies only!

“Emergency?” Gavin yawned out, “I’d say this is a fuckin’ emergency; I’m so bored that I’m about to set the world on fire!” That wasn’t anything exaggerated, at least for himself, anyway. Boredom was horrifying, and he really was running out of options. Not wanting to sit and drink his ass off this early in the day, he scrolled through his phone again until something in his mind took him back to Nines’ number.

Normally, whenever he’d been bored before, the slightly younger Gavin Reed would text, call, and just pester his friends or exes. It wasn’t the best form of pastime, granted, but it was the most entertaining and interesting, to say the least. Gavin enjoyed observing the different reactions people would give him when he called or texted out of the blue after not having said anything for years or months on end.

Usually, his exes would cut the call abruptly, and others who were more embittered would yell and rage at him, only to then cut the call off afterwards. Well, it wasn’t entirely bad! They got a chance to let off some steam, vent, get over their anger, and he was…well, he was amused and entertained! Not a bad exchange.

But he didn’t really want to talk to Nines and hear his voice right now, not that there was anything wrong or off-putting about his voice, really. On the contrary, it was rather pleasant to listen to, which Gavin found rather odd. When he’d first met Nines, prior to hearing him speak, since he kind of resembled Connor, there was a natural inclination to assume that he even sounded like him. However, when Nines uttered his first phrase to Gavin, which at the time had been: “Please don’t bother trying to pour salt down the back of my uniform collar; it’s impossible to get a rise out of me that way, and frankly, you’d be wasting your time,” Gavin had celebrated the fact that Nines sounded nothing like Connor. The RK800’s voice had always sounded quite nasally, at least to Gavin’s ears, and it was rather whiny and a tad annoying. But Nines’ voice was quite lower and deeper. It sounded far more mature, experienced, he spoke with command, confidence, urgency, and he knew how to change his tone, pitch, and color on and off whenever it suited the needs of the particular, specific conversation he was having. He had a solidly good grasp on how to not only present himself, but his voice was just…Gavin had no idea how to place it specifically, but he sat back and thought about it, his hand flying up to his right cheek.

…….

Nines had kissed him there last night…

Sitting up quickly, Gavin rubbed his cheek a little roughly. Granted, the kiss had been forced and barely much of a peck, but it was still so weird…Nines’ lips were kind of cold from what he recalled, and it didn’t feel like anything anyway. Whenever a woman had kissed him there on his cheeks before, he knew he could rely on expecting human warmth radiating from their lips onto his skin and cheeks, but Nines’ brief kiss had been so odd, so foreign and alien, that he wondered if that had been the first time ever the android had to kiss someone…

Putting that thought away when he looked back down at the RK900’s number in his contact list, Gavin decided to distract himself by actually texting Nines.

Why not? It could be fun!

Kicking his feet up on his kitchen table, he rested his bare feet above a few old newspapers he’d poorly substituted as a kitchen table cover. Majority of the papers were covered in coffee mug stains and circled outlines, ashes from his cigarettes, muddy kitten paw prints, and crumbs and bits of old food. Making himself as comfortable as he could, the proud detective relied on a hubristic belief in his own self-confidence and pushed past the barriers he’d normally withheld when it came to texting his work partners without a good cause.

He was going to go through with this, and luckily, the fact that he was behind a phone screen helped significantly. Fingers flew rapidly as he composed his initial message.

**Gavin Reed, 10:02 a.m.**

**sup Nines?**

Hitting ‘send’, Gavin sat back and stared around his messy kitchen.

Now what?? He highly doubted Nines was going to be a fast texter, so what was he supposed to do while he waited for the android to get back to him??

When Gavin moved his heels, something definitely crunched and broke apart beneath his weight. Staring down at it when he got his feet out of the way, he nearly puked when he saw that it’d been partly soggy cat food biscuit that was in the process of drying as it lay there in the sun beneath his feet upon the table.

“Nasty,” he grumbled to himself, lowering his feet as he emitted a strained sigh. Now, he really felt disgusting, but he knew that according to his ‘regular routine’, by this point in time, not only should he have been at work, but he should’ve showered and been super clean!

A shower was a pretty good idea rather than sitting in cat food and ash, he supposed. Standing up from the table and chair, he held his phone in his right hand as he began making his way through the apartment. Gavin had barely approached his linen closet to snatch out a fresh towel, when his phone buzzed loudly.

Incoming text message!!!

All too eagerly, Gavin glanced down at his phone, barely wedging the linen closet door open along the way. He frowned when he read the words on the screen, but oddly, he’d expected a response like the one he’d been bestowed with, so why was he somewhat disappointed??

**Fuck Stick Plastic Prick, 10:08 a.m.**

**I thought we agreed that you wouldn’t use this method of communication for any random purpose, Detective Reed? **

Well, technically, they had, but Gavin wasn’t really a man of his word…not when he didn’t want to be, anyway. Leaning against the closet door, he texted back:

**Gavin Reed, 10:09 a.m.**

**yeah but im kinda bored, Nines…soooo whatcha doin?**

Wondering why he’d freely spilled the truth out, Gavin scratched his chin for a moment until the reply came back to him two minutes later.

**Fuck Stick Plastic Prick, 10:11 a.m.**

**I’m doing what we normally should be doing at this hour on a regular Saturday; I’m working, unlike yourself, I imagine.**

Sputtering at his screen, Gavin cried out to himself, “Holy shit! I think he just called me lazy!!”

One of the orange kittens ran past him, but it slid carelessly down to the floor, still unable to properly walk. This kitten was something of the ‘runt of the litter’, and it was smaller, thinner, and a little sicklier than its siblings. Gavin eyed it for a moment, and the second he did, the kitten’s eyes met his, and it opened its mouth and mewled at him.

Waving his phone at the kitten, Gavin randomly announced, “Can you believe it?! I was called ‘lazy’ by Nines!! What a prick!!”

The kitten didn’t care, of course, and once it got back on its paws, it darted forward into the kitchen somewhere.

“Figured you wouldn’t care,” Gavin spat after it, already composing his next message to Nines. He didn’t know why, but he felt slightly offended that Nines had implied he was lazy. How was he lazy!? He got to work every day on time, he hardly took smoke breaks as often as he used to, and he really worked hard!!

He wasn’t lazy!

**Gavin Reed, 10:14 a.m.**

**cant believe u called me lazy…ur a dick, Nines.**

Standing back once he’d sent the message off, Gavin felt itchy all over, suddenly. Perhaps it really was time to get into the shower and stop wasting his time standing about like a twerp. Strangely, he found that texting Nines somehow made the time fly by a little.

As he got his towel, fresh change of clothes, as well as turned on the shower water, the next text sluggishly came in.

**Fuck Stick Plastic Prick, 10:20 a.m.**

**I doubt it’s far from reality. Now please leave me alone, Detective Reed; I have a lot of work to do.**

What work?!? Typically, there wasn’t too much to do on a Saturday, unless your name was Nines, for sure. Gavin was intrigued, but his shower was way more important. Leaving his phone on the bathroom vanity countertop, he undressed and got into the standing shower without thinking of much else.

~ѰѰѰѰѰ~

As soon as he’d dried himself off, Gavin fired away another text.

**Gavin Reed, 10:58 a.m.**

**sup man? **

This time, Nines had been rather quick to text him back.

**Fuck Stick Plastic Prick, 10:59 a.m. **

**And here I thought you’d finally found something to occupy your mind with. Shame I was wrong. **

**Gavin Reed, 10:59 a.m.**

**ur kinda funny on text **

**Fuck Stick Plastic Prick, 11:01 a.m.**

**How so?**

**Gavin Reed, 11:02 a.m.**

**dont know…u just seem bitchy. **

Stepping back from his phone for a moment, Gavin had to wonder why he found this amusing. This was still Nines he’d been texting and talking to, and at work, he could hardly stand the android for long without having to leave the room he’d always entered. What difference did texting him make??

Gavin sighed weakly and muttered to himself, “I think it’s time for another coffee…” as he got to work on heading inside the messy heap that was his kitchen, he shoved aside the mountain of dishes and utensils hanging out in the sink, on the counter, and eventually found his coffee machine.

Success!

Once he’d changed the filter and poured into it some water to get it going, he stood back and stared out the kitchen window. The glass was filthy, but he was still able to catch a decent enough view of the outside world.

Nothing special was going on today; the light sounds of the quotidian traffic flew into his apartment, while some crows cawed in the distance back and forth to one another. The wind blew lightly, making him shiver as his hair was still partly wet. While the coffee slowly filled his grey mug, Gavin looked around outside some more, surveying the parking lot of his apartment complex.

It wasn’t long before he saw that two large, colorful roller pigeons were perched on a fence barring the parking lot from the rest of the world, and as Gavin studied them in amusement, they leapt on top of each other and were clearly engaged in a mating display.

For some reason, he found himself reaching for his phone again.

**Gavin Reed, 11:10 a.m.**

**Just saw 2 pigeons mating…**

It was the most random thing he’d ever told someone before, and for a while, he wondered what had possessed him to even send it to begin with. Still, it was too late for regrets.

Grabbing his coffee mug once the dark beverage had been prepared and poured almost to the rim, he made himself comfortable on a chair at the table, and as soon as he’d seated himself, Nines’ text had been delivered right on time.

**Fuck Stick Plastic Prick, 11:13 a.m.**

**Charming news, Detective Reed. What do you want me to do about it?**

Gavin actually threw his head back and emitted a laugh. He had no idea how to even answer that question, because usually, whenever he’d stated random things like this before to other people, they hadn’t ever reacted like Nines had. Normally, they wouldn’t even give him the time of day, as ignoring him seemed to be the better option than to engage in his silliness.

What a breath of fresh air.

**Gavin Reed, 11:15 a.m.**

**dont do anything. was just some random shit. **

He found himself waiting for a reply more than he should’ve been, and it shocked him.

Why was he waiting for Nines to say something?? Was he _that_ bored?

Maybe he was, but was that such a bad thing?

No. Nines was actually fun to talk to, and Gavin wanted to see what else he could do to pester the stoic android, even if it entailed being ignored or receiving short, clipped responses. Nines wasn’t a man of many words, so it seemed, but Gavin was up for the challenge of fishing out whatever replies and responses he could out of the reserved android.

Nines didn’t disappoint, either. Nearly a minute and a half later, he’d sent out:

**Fuck Stick Plastic Prick, 11:17 a.m.**

**Well then, if you don’t have any other news of animals and beasts fornicating around your residence, Detective, I’m going to bid you a good rest of the day. **

**Do try and be productive, for once.**

Before Gavin could stop himself, he’d already mindlessly blurted out, “Damn Nines, you’re perfect sometimes!!” Now, he was itching to keep this charade going for as long as he could.

Unfortunately, as soon as he’d sipped his coffee halfway, and just as he’d been in the middle of composing his next reply to Nines, his phone alerted him to the fact that he had an incoming call.

Gavin’s blood ran cold all throughout his body once his eyes caught who it was that was calling him.

It wasn’t Nines, it wasn’t any of his exes, and it certainly wasn’t even Captain Fowler.

It was his mother; it was Carrie Moser.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a minor warning, this constant push and pull dance between Gavin and Nines will go on for a long, LONG, LOOONG time, because I feel it is the MOST realistic path to take given the au and Gavin's strange past. That's not to say these two won't be intimate quite soon down the road for the pretense of their 'relationship' to appear 'passable', but they still have a world of obstacles to go through and solve before genuinely developing real feelings for each other.  
At some point, this fic will also branch off into time skips, but not as in 'years later'. More so weeks here and there for the purposes of speeding up the time, but elements of X-Mas and New Year's will be spent around Gavin and Nines!


	6. Comfort Zones

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In which we get to be the fly on the wall during Gavin's conversation with his mom.

He had to take this call. Any call from his mother had always been important, and there was no way to ignore her now, especially where his money and inheritance was concerned, no doubt. Still, that didn’t make it any easier, and Gavin’s body already began taking a huge toll in terms of stress weighing down on him.

Suddenly feeling super cold, there was an odd sense of feeling heady, for an odd reason Gavin couldn’t speculate on. He knew he felt weak, sick, and terrified beyond imagination, and it wasn’t a feeling he often felt. Normally, he would feel the sense of adrenaline rushing and coursing through his system when he was out on a case, trying to interrogate someone, or was receiving high praise from Fowler. But this wasn’t a positive sensation, and it made him feel incredibly dizzy.

Grateful that he’d been smart enough to at least be seated for this, he allowed the phone to ring one last time before he swiped on ‘answer call’. The green light flashed over his screen, indicating that he was now connected to his mother.

All he could hear as he held his phone up to his ear was his own throbbing, beating heart, and it matched a loud, strong drum echoing and booming in a vacant land.

……..

Shaking, he finally managed to greet his mother. “H-hello?”

She paused for a moment, and then Gavin heard her sharply inhaling. This was already a bad sign.

“Good morning, Gavin.”

Yes, it was terrible; she was rather calm, but unlike how it was when others were calm in his presence, Gavin knew his mother operated quite differently. ‘Calm’ in her books always meant that she was on the verge of erupting like a deadly volcano. Her anger was probably just boiling and bubbling beneath the surface, but he thanked himself for having a physical distance at least.

Shying away from her ragged breaths, he asked, “H-how are y-you?”

Wishing he could stop stammering and stuttering like a kid with his hand caught in the cookie jar, Gavin reminded himself that he hadn’t done anything wrong; it was just nerves due to not having spoken to his mother on voice in almost a year…shit…that actually _was_ rather wrong!!

Thinking she’d been angry with him because of that, he hurriedly apologized, “Sorry I didn’t c-call you in a while! Been busy with work and shit, but I hope you’re okay, mom!”

…….

More silence was his response at first, and Gavin thought the call had been cut off, initially. Only when his mother resumed breathing harshly did he realize she was still on the other end of the line.

Eyes shifting from side to side suspiciously, he croaked, “Mom?”

Finally, she grumbled in a rather deep voice, “How stupid do you think I really am, Gavin?”

……..

Gavin winced, “Mom? Have you been smoking again? You know, the doctor said you shouldn’t be havin’ smokes at your age!”

“Screw off, I only had two since I woke up,” she snarled at him, and then coughed lightly, making Gavin cringe even more so as he stood up in a nervous tick.

What was she upset about?! He truthfully had no idea, so he put up with it and gathered his guts as he answered her with, “Mom, what’s going on?”

The wind blew rather harshly immediately, almost as if nature itself had been scolding him for doing something he seriously had no idea he’d done or been doing all this time. Hating the mysterious and enigmatic senses swooping all around him, Gavin shifted nervously, fidgeting about in his kitchen as he kicked aside newspapers and frightened a few of his kittens who’d been trying to eat their meals close by.

After coughing again, Gavin’s mother muttered, “Those photos you sent me, Gavin, I’m letting you know right now that they were complete bullshit.”

Falling into such a frozen, dead silence right away, Gavin forgot to breathe as his eyes widened and he stared down at the floor in fear. Chin and jaw quivering, he whispered brokenly, “Wh-what’re you talkin’ about?!”

“Your photos with your so-called _fiancé_,” she jabbed at him, “what the hell were they?!”

His anger got the better of him, and before his mother could say anything, Gavin had already leapt to his own conclusions. “Never took you for a homophobe, mom,” he chuckled cruelly, not at all amused by what he thought and suspected she’d been latching onto. “Isn’t your own sister-my aunt-married to a woman?” he reminded her as he played with the handle of his coffee mug. “What difference does it make if I’m seein’ a guy?!”

“Gavin!” she shrieked, getting his attention while all the hairs on his body slowly began rising on end. “I don’t give a rat’s ass who you’re sleeping with, and you know it!”

Bouncing onto his next thought, he spat, “Is it because he’s an android?”

Sighing, she growled, “Oh shut up! Even saying that-given the new laws-could be a criminal offense, and I’m not like that!”

Now, Gavin’s patience had been tested. Already on the edge, he yanked his coffee mug close to his chest, his free hand wrapping around it while he imagined choking the life out of someone he hated. Possibly a bully from his childhood; anyone would do if it meant he could calm the fuck down.

Irritably, he snarled, “Then what the hell kind of a point are you drivin’ at, mom?”

Pausing, she ate up the heavy silence before she eventually asked, “Have you been attending your counselling sessions lately?”

Gavin snorted, “Wandering off topic? Nice one!” Clapping sarcastically by slamming his hand down over the coffee mug a few times, he added, “Seriously, they should crown you as ‘Queen of Detraction’, mom.”

“Enough of the sarcasm, Gavin,” she yelled out at him, and he merely kicked at one of the kitchen cupboards until it hurt his toes and feet. He knew he was acting childishly and so impulsively, but he really didn’t have time for her to be playing this mysterious game. He was already on edge, and she had quite the knack for bringing him down and insulting him, whether she meant to or not.

With a huff, Gavin’s mother elucidated, “Look, Gavin, you’re a grown adult, and I’m not in charge of your business. I wasn’t trying to be, either,” she assured him calmly. “As far as I’m concerned, you’re the one paying for your own therapy, and it’s up to you to go and embrace the therapy or not; I don’t really care. I’m only calling to tell you that I don’t buy for one second into this idea that you’re with this man…err, android!!”

Not bothering to even curb his lewdness, Gavin announced, “Well, I just got done sucking his dick not that long ago before you called, so I think you’re shit outta luck here, mom.” Pausing for a moment, he hurriedly added in, “Sorry to burst your bubble, by the way.” While this comment had been something majority of children wouldn’t ever discuss with a parent so brazenly and so openly, Gavin’s upbringing had been entirely different. All his life, he’d had more of a ‘friend’ than a mother. Carrie Moser had been strict with him for the most part, yes, but very quickly, due to her sense of trying to control Gavin and ensure he didn’t turn out to be a dropout like his father, she’d insisted upon knowing practically _everything _in his life.

As such, Gavin soon grew accustomed to telling her everything to the point where privacy and shame were nonexistent topics in the household. None of it mattered and changed, not even when Gavin hit puberty, and not even when his mother started dating again. They shared a lot with each other, and even conversations surrounding sex, sexual preferences, experimentation, drug use, and other strange things didn’t seem to be out of the norm for them.

His therapist had once inquired about how Gavin’s mother had raised him, and when the irate male asked him why he wanted to know, his therapist eluded to the fact that Gavin’s current sea of problems perhaps stemmed from his upbringing.

Needless to say, Gavin ceased attending therapy sessions from that point on. He refused to believe that there was inherently something wrong with himself or his mother. She’d done well for a single parent struggling to complete her PhD, as well as trying to raise him and find him a suitable stepfather figure. How could some random, jackass of a stranger judge them?? They had no fucking place to do so, and anyone who wanted to was welcome to kiss his ass as far as he cared.

There was nothing wrong with him or his mother!

As normally expected, Gavin’s mother didn’t even react upon hearing her son’s crude statement. Resuming the conversation as if they’d been discussing the economy or politics, she coolly said, “Great, now that you have some time, I need you to understand that I’m not as stupid as you’d like me to be in this case, Gavin.” When he was silent enough while stewing in his own internal rage, she continued.

“First of all, that photo wasn’t even taken in your apartment; the walls are completely barren, the colors are different, and that sofa isn’t even anything you own.”

Shrugging even though she couldn’t see him doing it, Gavin spat, “I moved in with him, so fuckin’ what?”

“Really?” she snorted acerbically, “then how come I’ve not even seen a single portrait of you two hanging on the walls? Hmm?” Hurriedly continuing with her barrage of questions, she snapped, “Why did that photo seem so forced?? I’m no fool, Gavin,” she reminded him for the third time already. “I know what’s fake and what isn’t, and those pictures you sent me are as fake as your aunt’s breast implants!!”

When she was done with her rant, Gavin grabbed his coffee mug and chugged down the rest of its contents. Wiping his lips nervously with a trembling hand, he growled menacingly at her, “You done, now?!”

Clicking her tongue against her teeth, she chuckled, “You’re a real piece of work, Gavin. You take on after your father more and more each day, you know…” Sighing softly, she blurted out, “…He too was very good at trying to convince and persuade others, but I see past you just as I saw past his bullshit all those years ago when he blatantly lied to my fucking face.”

Gavin couldn’t take it anymore. He exploded upon hearing that he’d been compared to his late father. Slamming his coffee mug down onto the kitchen floor in a fit of rage, he didn’t care that it burst into a hundred shattered pieces. The bits slid and bounced off everywhere in sporadic directions, but thankfully, all the small kittens in the kitchen had already run away from the threat of harm.

As steam rose out of Gavin’s ears and from the top of his head, he heard his mother warningly press out, “Don’t you get mad; don’t you make angry faces! I’ve told you that people and grown adults don’t get mad like this, and I know for a fact you’re not going to therapy if this is how you’re behaving.”

“The fuck do you want from me, huh?!” Gavin screamed out at her from the top of his lungs, not even giving a shit who heard him. “What more can I do?!”

Gruffly grunting, she stated, “Well, let me meet him, then! Since he’s so charming and you’re so damn enamored with him, introduce us!”

Gavin’s heart right then and there skipped a few beats. “What?” he croaked out painfully, pushing past his anxiety as he carefully stepped around the trash heap and broken coffee mug on the floor. “You want to _meet him_?!”

“Yes, Gavin,” his mother ground out, on the edge of annoyance and impatience. “I’m swinging by in two days, because I should have time off perhaps on Monday.”

Two days…

Two fucking days…

Stuttering, Gavin chewed out, “That’s…th-that’s on such short notice, though…”

His mother laughed a dry laugh, “So what? You’re the one claiming you’re living with your partner,” the reminder came out in a sarcastic jab. “It shouldn’t be that difficult for you, then…” Pausing, she coldly bit out, “…Or do you think you’re high and mighty and above inviting your own mother into your house? Hmm?”

Gavin rubbed his forehead and temples firmly, wishing he could erase and rub himself away and out of existence. “I need to go, mom; this chat is giving me a damn headache.”

“Likewise,” she affirmed, “see you in two days, then.”

The call ended right then and there, and Gavin stood awkwardly listening to white noise and static. His heart pounding in his chest soon overpowered that noise, and Gavin set his phone down for a moment.

“Two fucking days,” he reiterated, “what the hell am I going to do in two days?!?” The longer he thought about it, the more he panicked. He had no clue where to start. His mother had told him she didn’t buy into the fact that he was cohabiting with Nines, it seemed, and his main goal now was to convince and persuade the histrionic woman that he was in a committed relationship, and he was _engaged_…

But how could he do that?! Last time he checked, he was nothing but a feckless momma’s boy!! He couldn’t ask Nines to move in with him!!

Suddenly, at the very thought and notion of having someone else move in with him, Gavin felt sick to his stomach. He seriously became nauseated, and he doubled over the kitchen sink dry heaving for a full minute. He was going to throw up for sure if he thought about changing his lifestyle this much. Change sucked; change was a bitch! It was so unpredictable, just like people, just like his exes, and just like his father…

No!!! He didn’t want change!!

Unable to stomach it, he slammed a hand over his mouth as his back and neck were dripping with sweat. Trembling and shaking violently, he swallowed down his own saliva and stomach acid while it crept up in his throat.

He didn’t want change; he wasn’t going to ever let anyone in, and he never really had. Even in the past, whenever he’d dated, he’d made sure not to ever invite his girlfriends back to his place. If they ever needed to be intimate, they always either went to hotels, or back to their places, but Gavin _never _allowed his previous girlfriends to get too close…on second thought, maybe that’s why none of his relationships had ever worked out…

Fuck if he cared, though; he had a bigger concern now, and he was nearly having a full-blown panic attack because of it. What was he supposed to do?!

Wheezing out desperately while his kittens kept an eye on him silently, Gavin reached for his phone lying a few feet away on the counter.

His safety net…his help…

Nines…

Pressing ‘call’ once the android’s number was highlighted, he hurriedly called up the android, wiping away sweat from his forehead and nose as he paced nervously and fidgeted about. He knew he was a complete nervous wreck, but he couldn’t help it. While the phone rang on and on a few times, he quickly turned on the kitchen sink tap, and he splashed some cold water over his face. It helped him calm down…but barely. He still needed to figure out at least _some_ form of a plan!

One the second last ring, Nines finally answered. “Reed, I thought I said that unless it’s an emergency, you’re not to ca—”

Interrupting angrily, Gavin roared, “THIS IS A FUCKIN’ EMERGENCY, NINES! MY MOM JUST CALLED SAYIN’ THAT THE PICS WE TOOK ARE COMPLETE BULLSHIT, AND SHE REQUIRES REAL PROOF THAT WE’RE A COUPLE!!” pausing to get some air in his lungs, he lowered the volume of his voice as he finished, “I need your help!! She’s droppin’ by in like, two days, man! What the fuck do we do about this shit?!”

Ever the calm and collected one, Nines instructed, “Breathe, relax, breathe in and out, first.”

“But I—”

“Just do it and stop arguing with me, Gavin!”

“Okay!” he inhaled, exhaled deeply, and then inhaled, held his breath for a moment, and exhaled extremely slowly as he forced himself to remain calm.

While he did this, Nines encouraged him softly. “Yes, good,” he ushered gently, “keep doing that for a moment while I think.”

Breathing in and out until he’d calmed down significantly, Gavin walked up towards his kitchen window to close it, and just in the nick of time, the mother tabby cat leapt inside the apartment with a loud hiss.

“S-sorry, girl,” Gavin backed off and let her rush to her kittens, and then he slammed the window shut. Resuming his small breathing exercises, he realized Nines had been quiet for longer than he liked. It didn’t do well for his nerves, and choked out painfully, “Houston, I don’t mean to push, but we _still_ have a fuckin’ problem!!”

Nines spat out, “You should come over with any items or furniture you have, then. If she wants to see us cohabiting together, then let’s do it, Reed.”

Gavin froze. What the hell kind of a suggestion was that?! Was Nines really inviting him over?!

Unable to believe it, he cried out warily, “Nines, I’m serious!”

“So am I!” came the loud-yet calm-reply, “I see no other way around it, Reed!”

“Bring my stuff with me?!”

“Yes,” Nines repeated, “there’s space in my apartment, as you saw.”

Turning around to peek inside his living room, Gavin noticed one of the kittens clawing at the sofa seats, and another had already vomited all over the armrest, while a third had urinated all over the floor right before the sofa.

No fucking way was he going to take his trash-infested and piss-stained sofas and chairs over into Nines’ clean and fancy, modern-looking apartment. The levels of mortification that came associated with that idea was alone enough to send him into another panic attack, so he abandoned the thought quickly.

Holding tightly to the phone, he stammered softly, “Umm, Nines? I…is it okay if I just…you know…leave my furniture behind for now?” It sounded so odd and stupid, and he was sure that Nines was going to react in an odd way, but he really didn’t want to embarrass himself more than he already was.

Not hanging on to the silence that had already been birthed out of that reply, Nines cleared his throat as he said, “If you’re worried that you can’t move your furniture here alone, I can help or call up a moving company.”

Damn this practical thing!!! This wasn’t a logical, practical nature that had a logical solution!!! This was emotional and raw!! Didn’t Nines get that?!

He didn’t want to ask, so he didn’t. Asking would mean learning more about Nines, and simultaneously leaving the door open for Nines to learn about him. He didn’t need that, _EVER_.

Swallowing his pride and anger as much as he could, Gavin addressed Nines’ previous question irritably. “I don’t need help moving my shit, Nines,” he growled, “I just want new stuff, and it may help my m-mom feel like we got them together or whatever the hell other couples do when they move in t-together!!” God, this was so hard to spit out, and he couldn’t believe he’d lived through it. But sure enough, he was still standing once the words escaped his mouth and lips.

Nines was silent for a moment, but he soon picked himself back up as he suggested, “I think we need to go shopping, then, Detective Reed.”

Nodding, Gavin softly and almost innocently croaked out, “B-but I don’t have a lot of money with me, so we can’t do anything fancy, okay?”

“Okay, Reed.”

“Okay.”

……..

“Please keep breathing and try to calm down,” Nines continuously urged. “Do you want me to come pick you up?”

Gavin shook his head wildly. “N-no! Just…stay there, Nines!” He made sure to calm back down, not wanting Nines to pick up on the hint that this was a sore, sensitive topic for him.

“Stay there, and I’ll come to you.”

“Okay, Reed.”

“Okay.”

The keys were already in his hand, and his wallet had thankfully still been where he left it in his brown leather jacket. As Gavin peeked inside it, however, he saw only a few bills, and only one credit card.

He could only hope and pray it would be enough.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have no words, but I think I like this version of Gavin the most. He's a very broken human being, and as time goes by, all of his barriers and such will slowly be unraveled.


	7. Peacemaker

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gavin and Nines go furniture shopping, and Halloween shopping.  
Love you, October. 🙏🎃

Gavin reached Nines’ apartment in no time. According to his phone, it was almost half-past noon when they decided to head to Costco, just to take a look at some household items and appliances to begin the ‘moving’ process. Thankfully, the plaza and shopping malls around them held a Target, a Walmart, as well as a furniture store called 5th _Avenue Furniture_. Gavin had never been inside it before, so he pointed at it the moment he parked the car in the spacious parking lot.

“There,” he suggested, “let’s start here, okay?”

“Sure,” Nines softly replied, sitting calmly and stiffly in the passenger seat, “you lead the way, Detective.”

Nines had been nothing short of calm and tranquil from the moment they entered the car, all the way up until they headed inside the store. A few salesclerks and customer service representative androids and humans rushed to greet them immediately, asking them if they needed help, while also announcing that the store was hosting a large sale where majority of the items on display were more than 65% off due to an autumn blowout sale.

It suited Gavin just fine either way.

The afternoon started off nicely, but soon spiraled into quite the cataclysmic failure. Nines was far too detached for Gavin’s tastes. Initially, the nervous male hadn’t paid any attention to it, but he saw the first sign of it when he stopped before a medium sized dresser that was black, and he asked Nines if it looked decent enough.

The fecund android merely grunted, “It’s up to you, Detective Reed.”

Gavin soon selected the second dresser they stumbled upon, which was an antique looking black dresser with only four drawers. It measured 34 inches in width, the depth was 21 inches, and the height was a mere 27 and a half inches.

Thankfully, due to the urgency of the sale, Gavin was told that the movers would pack and load the dresser up into his vehicle upon receiving his payment for the item. While things moved along well enough there, Gavin sensed something terribly off about Nines, and it became more apparent and evident as they continued shopping.

Selecting a bed came easily, strangely enough. Gavin picked a mahogany colored Hemnes bed, the size a twin. He only planned on using it once or twice, maybe, but he still required one, seeing as Nines didn’t have a damn bed.

They didn’t need a sofa or chairs, thankfully, but to make it all believable, they decided to buy a lot of discounted Halloween decorations. It mostly all consisted of Gavin selecting a tablecloth made out of the design and pattern of tiny vampire bats flying in front of a full moon, a skull-shaped piggy bank, a gargoyle globe with glitter raining down on it when shaken, a small chandelier that was vintage and gothic in design, as well as a painting of a jack o’lantern grinning evilly in the dark.

Once he brought his items over to a cashier’s till, he saw Nines looming behind him, folding his arms behind his back and appearing so rigid and annoyed. Gavin initially suspected it’d been because he was moving in, but he didn’t care to inquire. Nines had agreed to this, and this was part of what he owed him as far as the deal went! It was far too late to back out of it, now!

As soon as they left the furniture store and loaded up Gavin’s car with the items, Gavin stood back as he stared at everything they had so far.

Something was missing…

Suddenly, like a bright light turning on in the darkest of nights, Gavin’s eyes shined incandescently. He was thrilled he remembered what else they needed, and rounding on Nines while the android made sure to tuck away the Halloween decorations neatly in the trunk of the car, Gavin asked him, “You have a functioning bathroom, right?”

Nines closed the trunk and sighed, “Last time I checked, yes.”

“Like, the shower has running water and everything?”

Nines’ eyes twitched for a moment, but he still managed another ‘Yes’.

In spite of finding the dour android’s responses clipped and a tad gruesome to listen to, Gavin pressed on. Eyeing a _Bed, Bath and Beyond_ store right next to the Walmart, he steered himself in the exact direction. “I’ll need some stuff for the bathroom and shower,” he announced dully, and Nines automatically started following him, though he made no real attempt at keeping up.

As soon as they made their way past the automatic sliding doors, Gavin got lost in looking for new curtains in the bedroom since he recalled Nines didn’t have any.

“Hey, what color should I get, Nines?” he asked when he couldn’t decide between light purple and grey, “you know? You should tell me since it’s your apartment…”

Nines turned his nose away from the purple, and over to the grey, “That one.”

“Coolio,” Gavin shoved the package of the curtains into his cart, and he wheeled it off without another word. Surprisingly, he found that Nines allowed him to get a small mirror specifically for the bathroom, but when Gavin asked if he could hang it on the wall above the sink, that was when Nines started arguing and putting up a fuss for the first time that late afternoon.

While they tried keeping their conversation only between themselves, Gavin hissed, “What the hell’s wrong with you? Who the hell just buys a mirror and only brings it out to use it instead of just leaving it hanging on the wall always?!”

Trying to leave the isle containing the various styles of mirrors, Nines uncomfortably hissed back, “Take or leave it, Reed, that’s my final damn offer.”

Jokingly, Gavin leaned against the cart as he pointed at Nines, “The hell are you? Some kind of vampire?”

Peering at him without an air of amusement in his eyes, Nines retorted, “You’re being childish, now.”

“Well, why the fuck do you not like mirrors, then?” came Gavin’s next question, “mirrors aren’t bad things!”

Nodding at his pockets containing his cigarettes, Nines spat, “Cigarettes are bad things, yet you insist on keeping and smoking them, Detective. So what’s the correlation there?”

“I took up smoking for my own health, Nines,” Gavin snorted, “stop wandering off topic!”

Moving away from him, Nines approached the end of the isle, and on a shelf hanging on the other side, he pulled out a few soap dispensers and soap holders. “I think you also could use one of these, Detective,” he suggested calmly, “pick one out; you’re wasting my time.”

Rolling his eyes, Gavin let go of the mirror issue for the time being, and he instead joined Nines at the edge of the isle. Searching through the soap holders, he picked a plastic one with a silver pump. It wasn’t too fancy, and as he checked the price tag beneath it, he found it agreeable with his expenses in the past.

As he tossed it into the cart, he turned to the right, and he saw an entire isle stocked to the top with Halloween candy. Stomach grumbling, he headed towards it.

“Detective Reed!” Nines cried out after him, “get back here!”

“I want to check these out, Nines, just wait there a bit!!”

Ignoring Nines’ harsh growls and whispers, Gavin looked around the various assortment of candies, and he quickly saw a creepy werewolf mask a child must’ve picked up and then discarded in the candy section by mistake. A silly idea soon overcame him, and he held onto the mask and placed it over his own face in a hurry. Making sure it sat nicely and evenly, he crept back towards Nines. Thankfully, the android had his back turned, and he had no idea Gavin was slowly creeping up on him…good!

When he was barely an inch away from Nines, Gavin held out his hands, and he jumped right in front of the android with a loud, “GRRRRAAAA!!!!”

Nines didn’t even flinch. He simply stared blankly at Gavin’s werewolf mask, and after a moment, he reached up and tore out some bits of brown fur that had been glued and matted onto the top of the wolf skull.

“Stop!” Gavin cried out, backing away as he held up his hands, “you’re going to fuckin’ rip it apart!”

“Take that off,” Nines snapped, “and stop being a child.”

Already pissed off that his joke had fallen on someone incapable of understanding and appreciating jokes and a good sense of humor, Gavin tore off the werewolf mask aggressively, and he chucked it onto the shelf closest to himself. “You suck, Nines,” he growled, and as defiance and rebellion overpowered him, he chose to really make Nines feel like shit. “What’s with your suit?” he asked while throwing an execrable glare at Nines.

Unmoved by it, Nines barely gestured at his black three-piece suit, “It’s just how I dress, Detective Reed, why’s it an issue, now?”

“You always dress like that, even at work during casual dress-down days!!” Gavin pushed out irritably. “It’s stupid!”

Choosing not to comment, Nines merely turned the cart around, and he approached an isle with a large sign mounted above from the ceilings that read out **Bedding and Sheets.**

Gavin knew what he had to do, and as he shoved Nines out of the way, he already got to work selecting fresh, clean sheets. Opting for ones without designs, he simply picked grey and white striped ones, matching the curtains in some way. Then, he grabbed two large pillows, and he’d been caught up reading whether they had feathers in them or not when he sensed he was being watched.

Craning his neck around, he saw Nines leaning against the cart, and he was eyeing him rather bizarrely. It wasn’t a look Gavin could easily decipher, so to try and throw Nines off his case, he held up the pillow bundle he’d been trying to decide upon purchasing. “Do you think there’s feathers in here?” he asked as he waved it before Nines’ face. “It’s pretty damn expensive, so it must be worth every dime, huh?”

After giving the shorter male a fleeting look, Nines eyed the pillows, and he sighed, “Do you want me to buy them for you?”

Lowering the items in his hands, Gavin growled out while on the verge of exploding, “Do you want me to punch you right in the face, Nines?” When he caught the dry look of annoyance seeping out of the darkly clad android, he added, “I can afford these myself! I don’t need you to look after me, you know.”

“That’s where you’re wrong,” Nines hissed at him when he threw the pillows into the cart.

Pausing, Gavin gaped at him for a moment, “Say what?”

Expression wavering on the brink of anger, Nines collected himself as he muttered, “You don’t even have a clue what you’re doing, do you?”

Gavin scratched his nose for a quick moment while pushing the cart into Nines’ hips, “Stop bein’ such a weirdo, Nines,” he warned impatiently, “you’re already gettin’ on my nerves a lot lately, and I swear, I don’t need this shit right now.” With a huff, he rearranged the items in the cart, and then turned to pick out clean towels.

Nines didn’t show signs of wanting to stop anytime soon, however. “Do you have even the slightest and vaguest notion of what it means to be married, Detective Reed?”

Lifting up a white towel and a cream colored one, Gavin answered, “Yeah, it basically means: ‘I’m the kind of man crawls into his own grave in search of hope’! That’s what it means when you seek marriage!!”

“Would you like to try that again?” Nines spoke behind him, sounding so far away, suddenly.

Gavin rolled his eyes, “This is Bed, Bath and_ Beyond_ fuckin’ stupid,” he paused, snorting at his own pathetic joke.

Nines pushed aside the cart, moving it to rest close to the right side of the aisle while he took measured and determined steps towards Gavin. While the pop music blasted above them on the PA system, Gavin was far too busied with picking out another towel, and Nines’ footsteps were far too quiet. He hadn’t noticed Nines slowly pressing himself up against him. Only when Nines leaned over and touched the back of Gavin’s neck did the shorter male drop the towels he’d been holding and spin around like a wild tornado.

“Nines!” he choked out in shock, “what the fuck—” he was unable to finish his sentence. Nines was so close to him, and he was getting closer. Gavin could practically count each freckle he had softly kissing along his cheeks and cheekbones, and as he stared intently at the android, Nines reached out with both his hands, and he placed them on either side of Gavin’s body. Resting them on the shelves behind Gavin, he leaned further into the shorter man and stared at him deeply and intently.

“This is what I’m referring to, Gavin,” he calmly stated as he still advanced and closed the gap between their bodies. “This is what I mean, and I don’t think you’ve considered the fact that this situation you’ve dragged me into is a lot more serious than you think.” Hands moving away from the shelf, Nines’ right hand rested on Gavin’s left hip, and he gingerly gripped the detective’s bone there, startling Gavin in the process.

Eyes blown wide, his face was almost a complete caricature of fear. Softly, he mumbled out incoherently, “Nines, what the fuck…th-this isn’t right…get your hands off me!”

A warm chuckle hit his ears, and Nines leaned further and further into him. “Notions of right and wrong don’t really exist, here, Detective Reed,” he practically purred, “you should’ve thought of this before…” As his eyes searched through Gavin’s, his right hand wandered sensually down Gavin’s hip and rested above his thigh. “What would you do if we really were married, Detective Reed? Hmm?” Fingers latching onto Gavin’s muscles, Nines gave him a firm squeeze. “Don’t husbands and wives have needs that should be met? Hmm?”

Gavin wheezed out in shock when Nines’ left hand swam over his stomach, but didn’t venture down any lower than his navel. “Nines,” he begged desperately, “let me go…”

But there wasn’t any room or anywhere for him to go; there was just his body, and Nines’. The tall android hardly gave him even an inch, but Gavin was worried about women or children stumbling upon them this closely together in the aisle.

Turning gaunt, he pleaded, “Nines! What if someone comes by?!”

Nines didn’t answer that. Instead, his hands gently massaged and touched Gavin’s chest, the left one wandering higher and higher, while the right one moved to grip Gavin’s left hip, now. Practically an inch apart, now, Nines craned his neck down, and his face was mere inches away from Gavin’s throat. Eyeing it rather tastefully, Nines spoke out softly, “If we were married, Reed, you would need to understand that moments like this should exist between us.”

Squirming, now, Gavin recoiled in disgust when he felt Nines’ breath on his neck. “Don’t!” He tried shoving the strong android away, but it was of no use; Nines was like a god damn wall or a pillar, and he wasn’t going anywhere unless he himself chose to go somewhere else.

While Gavin pushed and pushed at him, Nines let his lips barely ghost along the white column of Gavin’s neck. Lips hovering half an inch in the air, he smirked when he saw Gavin’s skin turning beet red. “Is this affecting you, Reed?” he cooed, “I’m charmed.”

Above, the music was coming to an end, and Gavin was certain that too much time had elapsed since they were stuck in this position. He could’ve even sworn he heard a child giggling enthusiastically somewhere nearby…

“Gavin…”

Pupils dilating in response to the shudders and shivers his body was wracked with upon hearing how Nines had whispered his name so delicately right into his ear, Gavin snapped. With all his might, he shoved Nines as hard as he could in the chest, thankful he’d recovered from whatever the fuck Nines had done to him. Regaining control over his own limbs, Gavin then grabbed at Nines’ suit collar, and he shoved him once again as hard and as roughly as he could into the shopping cart.

Holding up his hands, Nines shrugged while chuckling coldly, “As I thought; you failed, Detective Reed.”

“Fuck off, Nines!” he screamed, pointing crudely at him. “If you _ever_ even _think_ about doing that again, I’ll—”

“You’ll _what_, Reed?” Nines sneered at him, straightening his outfit back in order and pushing his ruffled hair back into place. “What do you suppose I’m going through, then?”

Finger shaking, Gavin continued to point it at Nines, as if he were holding a gun, “If you think this is any easier on me, then you’re a fuckin’ moron!”

“Sure, think that way if you want,” Nines uttered coolly. “It makes no difference and doesn’t even come close to the fact that you’ve already badly messed up _my_ life, _my_ routine, _my_ schedule, and you expect me to just sit here and be at your side until ‘Mother Dearest’ deems it okay for you to collect what you’re owed, right?” Scoffing, then, Nines turned his nose up in disgust, and Gavin moved back as he tried ignoring and putting it all off.

Searching for anything to distract himself, he grabbed one of the few zombie dolls on display, a yellow, orange, red, and brown colored wreath decorated and made up of artificial leaves, and he tossed them into the cart. “We need more things for the apartment,” he announced more so to himself than to Nines, but the vitriolic android wasn’t going to have it.

Reaching down into the cart, he grabbed the zombie doll and the wreath, and he chucked them at Gavin’s feet. “We _don’t_ need this crap, Gavin!” he resisted the urge to scream as hard as he could while they were still indoors, “we need to get ourselves together and think about what the hell we’re getting into, before it’s too god damn late!!”

Shaking his head wildly, Gavin tugged at a few hair strands as he ground out, “I don’t h-have time for th-that, Nines! Why don’t you get it?!”

Standing back, Nines finally seemed to break out of his angry state, and he simply snorted gently while shaking his head at Gavin a few times. “You’re hopeless, Gavin,” was all he said before grabbing the cart and wheeling it down the aisle, his LED light blinking yellow the entire time.

When he was alone, Gavin crumbled down on his heels, and he hugged himself and rocked on the back of his legs a few times. Inside, he was a complete mess of emotions and feelings, and he had no idea what to do with them. Most of what Nines had said was…

“Mister, you okay?”

Glancing up in a jiffy, he leapt back a little in fear when he saw two girls and one boy a few feet away from him. One of the girls was wearing a yellow dress, sneakers, and had her blonde hair done up in lovely, long pigtails. Her small green eyes were round with fear, and as her siblings looked on at Gavin, the adult male finally saw the mother of the children turning her cart down the aisle.

“Rosalee!” she shrieked sternly, “what have I said about talking to strangers?!”

As she ran to her mother’s side, Gavin got up to his feet, and with his head bowed apologetically at the woman, he tore down the aisle, nearly tripping clumsily over his own feet a few times in the process.

~ѰѰѰѰѰ~

Gavin hated that anytime he’d tried calling Hank Anderson, Connor would usually be the one to answer the damn phone. Not that it really was his fault per se; the mail room of the DPD was shared between the two of them, and more often than not, Connor was far quicker to answer the phone.

As such, the egregious experience Gavin had been faced with in regards to Nines was something he felt he had to discuss with Hank, and he had no idea why. It was just a burning need to talk; to be heard, to be listened to…

Answering the phone in a less than chuffed manner, Connor dully spoke out, “Detroit Police Department Mail Room, Connor speaking!”

“Connor, I need to talk to Hank,” Gavin didn’t even hesitate to blurt out, drawing up his knees into his chest while he sat on top of the closed toilet bowl lid, currently locked away tightly in a stall of the men’s washroom in the store. Nines was supposedly paying for their items, Gavin had offered him a half-assed excuse of needing to take a piss before they headed back to Nines’ apartment, and thus, that’s how he’d locked himself in a stall and held onto the hopes that Hank was working this Saturday afternoon so they could chat.

With a small groan emitted, Connor explained, “Hank’s not in today, Gavin; it’s his day off.”

Fuck!!

Willing himself not to panic, he asked, “Can I have his phone number, please?!” ignoring how desperate he sounded, he supplied, “this is a serious issue, Connor, and I want to talk to Hank!”

“Err, okay,” the RK800 quizzically hissed, “do you have a pen or something?”

“Wait,” Gavin grunted, and as he put Connor on speaker, he opened another app on his phone called ‘Sticky Notes’, and he then turned his attention back to Connor. “Okay, I’m ready.”

Once Connor coughed up the number for him, Gavin didn’t even offer him so much as a ‘goodbye’. He’d already disconnected, and he was now dialing Hank hurriedly.

“Pick up, pick up, pick up, Hank!!” he chanted over and over as if it were a canorous prayer, his own voice growing steadily louder.

Finally, Hank picked up, and the moment he had, Gavin heard deep, loud barking coming from the other end of the line.

“Sumo! Knock it off!” Hank screamed, and then he shifted and spoke out, “Hello?”

Almost crying out in relief, Gavin gasped out, “Hank! Oh thank God! H-how’ve you been?” Priding himself on the fact that he hadn’t forgotten his manners, he heard Hank choking on a gasp of his own for a moment.

When he’d cleared his throat and calmed down his coughing, he croaked painfully, “Reed?! How the hell did you get my number?!”

“Connor gave it to me,” Gavin answered quickly. “Hank, I don’t have a lot of time, but I need to talk to you about something that’s been buggin’ me ever since I decided to marry Nines!”

It was quiet for a moment, and then Hank inquired, “Wait, where the heck are you? I hear weird music!”

Slapping a hand down on his thigh, Gavin hissed, “Never mind the music, Hank!” Calming himself down once again, he hurriedly pressed on, “D-do you know whether Nines has ever…umm…” This was absolutely terrible already. What did he even want to ask?! Was it even his God-given right to ask whether or not Nines had been…sexually active?! Did it matter?!

Thinking on it for a moment, Gavin decided that yes, yes it mattered a great deal. Maybe Nines was using him for…no…no! He couldn’t think about that, for if he did, he was certain he was going to vomit all over his knees, and Hank Anderson would have to hear it all.

Knowing that Hank was at least still listening, Gavin changed the subject swiftly. Picking at a loose thread in his jeans, he asked, “Do you think Nines takes this wedding thing seriously, Hank?”

Pausing for a moment, Hank eventually sighed, “I’m sure he does to an extent, Reed, otherwise it wouldn’t be believable for your mom, would it?”

That…that wasn’t what he meant.

Thinking about how to really ask what he wanted to ask specifically, he curtailed himself of asking about the explicit things. Opting for a brief, quick explanation of what had happened, he mumbled out, “You see, today, I was shopping with Nines, and he kinda caught me off guard because he said that if we were…married,” he nearly choked on the word, “…we would have to…I mean, like, he said that he has needs, right? And so I…FUCK! THIS IS SO FUCKING WEIRD!!” Punching at the wall ahead of himself, Gavin roared a few times until he heard Hank crying out his name numerous times.

“Gavin! Gavin! GAVIN!!!!”

Only stopping when Hank yelled his name so loudly that Sumo howled in the background, Gavin sniffled, wiped his nose with the back of a hand, and then whispered, “Sorry, I’m just…I’m so fucked up, man!”

What had he gotten himself into?!

For what?! Was the money really worth it?!

As he sat there panting and sniffling, clearly on the verge of a breakdown, Hank calmly spoke out to him.

“Gavin, please try to calm down and listen to me,” he suggested while effectively silencing Sumo. “I need you to listen, okay?”

“O-okay,” Gavin promised him swiftly, “I’m listening.”

“Listen with your heart and brain,” Hank added, “I need you to do that for me, Gavin.”

“I am…I am…” Closing his eyes, he rocked back and forth on his ass, and he waited for Hank to take in a deep breath, clearly indicating that he was going to present him with some sort of a long speech, possibly.

He hadn’t been wrong to assume that.

“Gavin, if you’re wanting to know whether or not Nines has sexual interests, I can assure you, he does, but I don’t think he’s really dated anyone or explored that option, if you know what I mean,” Hank elucidated patiently.

Slightly sitting up, Gavin asked, “What do you mean?”

……..

“Well,” Hank sighed softly, “I saw him trying to pursue this android girl last year right after New Year’s, I think, but he gave up when she told him she had a boyfriend or something.” Shifting, Hank must’ve sat down somewhere, for it got quiet in the background before he continued. “Nines works his ass off as you can see, and I don’t think he has a lot of time to date…in fact,” he chortled mildly, “I’d say if he got a date, it’d be a damn miracle, because that boy is socially awkward as all hell!”

This still hadn’t done anything to diminish his sense of overwhelming grief. Not wanting to appear ungrateful, however, Gavin instead asked, “Well, that’s all fine, Hank, but do you th-think he wanted to hurt me by saying the shit I told you he said to me?”

Very slowly and carefully, Hank answered, “Not. At. All, Gavin. Hear me out,” he repeated, “no way would Nines ever do that.”

Wincing, Gavin mildly argued, “But you’re biased, Hank! He said he has needs, and he was up in my face and I just don’t feel right about this! What if he tries to take advantage of me or something?!” He was very well aware that this could potentially all sound so crazy to Hank’s ears, but it seemed that the older man reserved his judgement.

Only chuckling softly, Hank supplied, “Knowing Nines like I do, I think he meant that shit so you could think about this more seriously, Gavin.”

“I am!” Gavin ground out childishly.

“To play the role here, you have to _be _the role.”

“I know that,” the heated detective hissed, “but what I’m getting at, Hank, errr, I mean, what I want to know, rather is that—”

Clearing his throat, Hank immediately was able to command Gavin’s attention. It was absolutely silent on both ends of the line, and only then did Gavin realize just how wise, sagacious, knowledgeable, and respectful Hank was.

_This_ was a man he needed to truly look up to and respect.

“Listen, Gavin,” Hank sternly spoke out, but he didn’t appear to be angry or even remotely upset with Gavin. “Nines is a _good, honorable_ man, and that’s all you need to know.”

Allowing the words to seep into his brain and sink in deeply, Gavin felt they resonated within himself as he took in a measured, deep breath. “He said this has to be real, and for it to be real, I have to act like a partner and meet his _needs_.” Almost vomiting upon saying that word again out loud, Gavin thought back to the way Nines had urgently hissed it in his ear, and he trembled in fear and trepidation.

“He has a point, Gavin,” Hank affirmed, “but I swear to you, Nines won’t hurt you, and the chances are that he didn’t mean it in the way you’re likely thinking. In fact,” he sternly pointed out more, “I think he is the type to really sacrifice himself and his own happiness if it will help someone else, and god damn it, I admire him, Gavin, I really do…”

While Gavin didn’t see how that was possible, there was just no way he was going to be disrespectful enough to disagree with Hank. No, not when he himself was growing to admire and look up to Hank. This man was suddenly so patient and understanding, and his levels of shared empathy had taken Gavin by complete surprise.

Hank was a real man; Hank was the father Felix Reed should’ve been.

No…Hank was the father Gavin needed the most, especially right now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hank is one amazing man, and I'm glad I tried out one Father figure Hank rendition as opposed to having him engage in a toxic, argumentative relationship with Gavin.


	8. Never Have I Ever

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yes, as the title implies, Gavin and Nines seriously play this game.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone who encouraged me to keep writing this when I was down and depressed.  
As promised, here's another chapter, and I will aim to keep on steadfastly going no matter what!!  
<3

Gavin found that Nines had waited for him in the parking lot after he finished his conversation with Hank. Leaving the washroom and the store feeling a lot better than he had in the last few hours, he sat down inside the car first, unlocking the door and plopping onto the driver’s seat as he started up the engine. Nines followed him, quickly placing the rest of their items inside the car. Next, Nines and Gavin drove back to the apartment complex Nines lived in, and they spent the rest of the evening and night unpacking things and ‘redecorating’ Nines’ apartment to fit Gavin’s new purchased belongings.

It’d been a tedious task, but luckily, Nines being an android hardly made much of a fuss. He never ran out of energy or stamina, and while Gavin took a mini break and went to get some fast food, Nines not only put his bed together, but also found a place for it, as well as the dresser. The adjustments proved to be both efficacious and manageable, and by the time Gavin strolled back inside before 11 p.m., he found that Nines was busy with wiping down the table his plants had once rested on in the kitchen.

“What the—” Gavin gasped when he saw that the plants had been moved to line up the windowsills instead, leaving the dark oak table clear.

“Nines?”

“Reed?” Nines poked back at him verbally, throwing away dirtied tissues as he reached inside their bag of purchased items, and he yanked out the vampire bat covered tablecloth. Draping it nicely and evenly over the table, he then placed the gargoyle globe in the center of the table, followed by the saltshaker, pepper shaker, napkin holder, an ashtray he’d obtained for Gavin’s smoking habits, as well as a tiny vase.

Scratching his head in puzzlement as he watched Nines organizing the rest of the kitchen, Gavin then peered into the bag, and he saw the zombie doll and the autumn-themed wreath.

“Wait a minute!” Yanking them both out of the bag, he held them up and exclaimed, “You threw these out of the cart!”

Looking much like he’d rather be any place else and not having this conversation currently, Nines replied dully, “I picked them back up afterwards and bought them. What of it?”

Shrugging, Gavin held onto the items, and he said softly, “Nothing…just…just keep a record of the stuff you bought, and when this is all over, just let me know how much money you spent on me so I can pay you back.”

Skirting around the subject, Nines grunted out, “Did you bring your toothbrush and toothpaste with yourself?”

Pausing for a moment due to how random it was, Gavin then responded, “No…why?”

Crumpling up an empty bag in his large hands, Nines smoothly elucidated, “Then it’ll be difficult for you to sleep tonight, I suppose.”

All the blood and color drained out of Gavin’s face at once. Deep down, upon remembering Hank’s words, he suspected that Nines was trying to help him out a little, possibly by making him feel super welcome, but he wasn’t going to sleep here. No way; not now, not ever.

Trying to find the politest way to let the android know this, Gavin chewed on his lower lip to the point where the more he worried, the harder he was biting and chewing.

“Reed?”

“Hmm?”

Nines nodded at him, eyes flickering over to his lips briefly. “Your lip is bleeding.”

Running his tongue along the lower lip, he found that Nines was right; he tasted metallic and coppery blood, and feeling repulsed by the substance’s distinct taste, he dashed towards the table for a napkin. But Nines was faster, and at the same time that Gavin tried pulling a white tissue out of the holder, Nines reached for one as well. As a result, their hands made contact, and both men stared at each other for a split second before they immediately leapt back.

In unison, they cried out, “I’m sorry!!”

Upon realizing they’d both apologized to each other at exactly the same time, Gavin blushed, while Nines’ LED light flashed yellow. Nines winced, and Gavin cringed, holding a hand up to shield his bleeding lip. As they stood there awkwardly, Gavin eventually hissed, “Nines? May I have a god damn tissue, now?”

Snapping out of his vegetative state, Nines yanked one out of the small pile in the holder, and he held it out to Gavin. “Here,” he gently moved his fingers out of the way when Gavin directly made a grab for the tissue, and the moment the detective had a grip on it, Nines retreated his arm.

Dabbing the tissue softly over his lip, Gavin sighed as he ruffled his hair, “I’m gonna get going, if it’s okay with you, Nines.” This had already been far too much and far too awkward for his tastes, and naturally, he always found fleeing the scene was easier than deciphering why he was uncomfortable, and what the root cause for it was.

As he’d turned on his heels, Nines cried out at his back, “You’re going back to your own place?”

Understanding how it all sounded, Gavin stopped walking, and as he watched Nines over his shoulder, he gave one curt nod as he replied, “Just for tonight, I guess…gotta sleep in my own place one last time before my mom shows up on Monday, right?”

This time, Nines didn’t say anything, but Gavin found it was much better that way.

He didn’t want to say anything to Nines for that matter, either, for what could he say, really?

~ѰѰѰѰѰ~

Gavin didn’t sleep well at all Saturday night. How could anyone expect him to, really? He’d come home to an apartment full of cat piss and shit, for one, and it’d taken him until late in the morning to clean most of it. Airing out the apartment didn’t help get rid of the potent stench of cat urine, he found. Good luck getting a date. As of the following day, he knew he had to get into the habit of living with someone else, as well as spending majority of his waking hours around them in order to make the chicanery as believable as possible to make it all work.

Obtaining and holding onto this knowledge enabled the craven detective to feel even more frightened, mortified, and absolutely ‘stuck’ in his current situation. He knew that this wasn’t easy for Nines, either, but he felt that the majority of the ‘sacrifices’ had to come from himself, so it seemed.

“Isn’t it funny?” he blurted out loud to his kittens Sunday morning while he sipped his warm coffee, “I thought this was gonna be my ‘easy way’ out, and yet it’s causing me the most pain and difficulty…”

The chances…perhaps Nines was right; perhaps he had no clue what he was walking into, but he knew that it was way too late to turn back on this now. It wouldn’t be fair to Nines, it wouldn’t be fair to the sacrifices he’d made, and it wouldn’t be fair to Gavin, himself. Nothing in life came easily, and plenty of people took things in this world for granted as it was. He didn’t want to start including himself in that list, and if he had to brave it through for a few more weeks or a month, at the most, so be it.

He could reap the rewards later, and he _would._

Convincing himself of that rather easily, Gavin pushed down his worries as he set to work on finally getting around to doing his laundry. Ever so grateful for the week off, Gavin found that he had a large amount of laundry to actually do. As he thanked Jeffrey Fowler for the time off at least thirty times while in the laundry room of his apartment complex, he eventually got around to drying and folding the clothes around 11 a.m.

Well, that was only one pile, anyway…he still had another two to go, and he suspected it would take another two hours, at the very least.

Entertaining himself by going on his phone to play games as the machines washed his third pile, his phone suddenly alerted him to an incoming text message right around noon that very same day.

Sighing when he looked down at it, he tapped it open and read through it lazily while his clothes spun around in the washer and dryer.

**Fuck Stuck Plastic Prick, 12:13 p.m.**

**You should bring some clothes with you, because I don’t think my size would fit yours, frankly, and besides, what’s the point of you getting your own dresser if you were sharing my clothes?**

Only Nines could make something as trivial as wearing clothes seem so complicated.

**Gavin Reed, 12:16 p.m.**

**im doin it, dont worry, clothes r bein washed as we text. **

Stretching his arms and legs for the first time in two hours, he stood up and did some light exercises while waiting on his clothes. His back and neck were so sore; a clear testament to how badly he’d slept last night.

His phone buzzed again. Nines sure was relentless.

**Fuck Stick Plastic Prick, 12:21 p.m.**

**Great. Don’t forget any other personal items and toiletries or personal hygiene; I have no use for them, so I don’t have any in my apartment. **

Chuckling, Gavin said out loud to himself, “I’ll be sure to bring along my purple dildo and cucumber-scented facial mask, Nines, thanks.”

However, he politely texted:

**Gavin Reed, 12:23 p.m.**

**k, thnx mom**

Not even thirty seconds went by before Nines sent:

**Fuck Stick Plastic Prick, 12:23 p.m.**

**I’m not your mother.**

That was when Gavin pocketed his phone and chose to take out his clothes from the dryer a little earlier. He didn’t do this because he was bored and wanted to complete his chores, however; he did this because he had to go shopping for food as soon as possible, as well as look around for a small, mini fridge he could store somewhere in Nines’ apartment.

Unlike some people, Gavin Reed sure had a healthy appetite, and he was going to embrace that when he lived with Nines.

~ѰѰѰѰѰ~

Finding the fridge wasn’t as difficult as Gavin thought it would be. Apparently, today was his lucky day, as he’d also found a small fridge and freezer pair attached together on sale. It came as a ‘bundle’ of sorts, and thankfully, it wasn’t much bigger than a medium sized safe. Gavin was able to carry it perfectly without help, and he loaded it in the back of his car around 2 p.m. that afternoon.

Next came the bags of his clothes, and when Gavin grabbed the very last one containing his jeans and bottoms, something stuck out to him on top of the pile. Something white flashed, and as he stared down at it, he saw that it was in many pieces?

What the hell??

Opening the bag further, he reached for his jeans, and as he did, tufts of white blew about in his face when the wind picked up outside. Something blew up into his face, but before the wind could take it away, Gavin snatched it in the palm of his hand. As soon as the wind stopped blowing, he stared down at the object, and to his amazement and awe, he found that it was the same tissue with his own now light brown, dried up blood on it.

Evidently, it’d remained in his pocket since he left Nines’ apartment complex, and since he’d buried it deeply within his pocket, he’d forgotten that he’d tossed it into the washing machine just like that.

“You survived most of that?” he asked the tissue, and even though it obviously couldn’t talk, Gavin found he was even more amazed that it was practically still in one piece. Clutching it in his hand, he stared at it for a long time until he felt slightly chilly.

As the wind howled around in the parking lot, it trailed down more leaves from the tall trees above. The dried-up leaves clattered and made plenty of scraping noises as they glided over and across the roads and pavement. Eerily, to Gavin, it all sounded like nails on a chalkboard…

But what was he doing just standing there like a fool in his parking lot in the middle of the afternoon holding a bloodied tissue he could’ve sworn he got rid of last night??

Nothing made sense…none of this was logical, and it was really starting to get on his nerves. Gavin Reed really despised mystery, change, and emotionally charged things, and he had his fill of it to last him the entire year.

Opening his hand abruptly, he let the tissue go, and hopefully, along with it would leave the memory of Nines’ cold blue eyes burning into his, and the feeling of his firm body pressed against Gavin’s own as his hands wandered along his chest and abdomen...

Realizing that it was going to take a lot more than merely watching the crumpled-up tissue floating away carelessly in the wind, Gavin knew it was time to rely on and appeal to a different source; a stronger source he’d often relied on many times in his past.

It was time to go out and buy some drinks to stock the fridge with.

~ѰѰѰѰѰ~

Nines yanked open his apartment door to find a soaked Gavin Reed sniffling while he cradled a box containing his fridge and freezer, clothes bags resting on his arms, shoulders, hanging from around his neck, as well as another box containing his toiletries and hygiene products on the floor by his feet. It’d started raining heavily for many hours around 2:30 p.m., and Gavin was beyond drenched while he stood there like a wet cat sniffling. The tip of his nose was pink from the cold, and a few drops of rainwater dripped off his chin and clothes.

Lips curling back, Nines roared, “You are _four_ hours late!”

Gavin could only sigh dejectedly, “I know.”

Nines stared at his belongings, and as he grabbed the box of personal hygiene products and toiletries, he tugged and yanked it to his chest as he backed down the hall and provided Gavin enough room to step inside, also.

“Where were you?!” the irate android almost shrieked. “You said you’d arrive before three!”

“I had to go shopping!!” Gavin cried out, slightly lowering his bags as he struggled against wanting to boot them across the hallway.

The door slammed shut behind him as he threw a few of his items down once he’d kicked off his shoes, and he felt a bit lighter, at least, but definitely not warmer or drier, sadly.

Nines paused and gaped at him. “Shopping?!” he repeated petulantly, “you went shopping while I was stuck in here and couldn’t go out?!”

“Nines, relax! It’s nothing, and you’re making a huge deal out of it!”

Waving a hand around the open concept living room that was brightly lit, Nines screamed explosively, “I had _nothing_ to do and _nowhere_ to go because I didn’t want you to be here and stumble upon a locked door, and I couldn’t even watch the stupid football match that was supposedly going on today because it’s been raining all over Michigan for fuck’s sake!”

“Calm down, Nines!!” Gavin urged, finally setting down his boxed fridge and mini freezer, sliding it across the floor until it reached the kitchen entryway. Strangely, Gavin had worked with Nines for two whole years, and never before had he seen him this upset. Frankly, it was odd, new, and refreshing. Perhaps it meant that the RK900 could feel some things after all.

Nines looked down at the box, and as soon as he read the label printed on it, he huffed, “Wise of you to get that, Reed.” Eyeing the rest of Gavin’s items, his eyes finally captured the sight of the brown LCBO paper bag tucked under a hand, and he recoiled while shaking his head madly. “No, Reed, you’re not going to be drinking in here, and that’s final.”

“Ah! Come on, Nines!” Gavin griped, “it’s just for _one_ night!!”

A light brown eyebrow quirked up, “One night?”

“Yeah!” Gavin commented, “Think of it as us celebrating our last time ‘single’ or something, haha, it’ll be fun!”

As he got to work unpacking the mini freezer and fridge, Nines placed a hand on his right hip, and with the other, he pushed back his loose, stray bang out of his eyes. “Reed, what on Earth can I do to celebrate with you?”

Gavin snorted while setting up the freezer and fridge in a corner next to the cupboards, “You can keep me company, for one, and two, I was thinkin’ we could play a little drinking game!”

Nines sighed as he pinched the bridge of his nose, “I can’t eat or drink, and you know that.”

Coolly shrugging, Gavin replied, “Who said you had to drink?”

“But you—”

Setting out a few glasses he’d packed along with himself, Gavin placed them carefully on the clean and wiped down countertops while grinning. “You can pretend, Nines,” he pushed a glass over towards the moody android gently so it wouldn’t break. “I’ll drink, and you can ‘mime’ it, okay?”

Rolling his blue eyes, Nines finally asked, “What’s the game, then?”

Smirking playfully at him, then, Gavin set inside his freezer a few beer bottles, and once they were all packed in nicely, and once the appliance had been plugged into an electric outlet, Gavin wiped his hands on his jeans and stood facing Nines.

“Ever got around to playing ‘Never Have I Ever’?”

~ѰѰѰѰѰ~

It was a little past 7 p.m. when Gavin and Nines changed from their previous clothes into something a little more comfortable. Nines wore black slacks that still were ironed too well and too properly for Gavin’s tastes, as well as a white dress shirt that only had one button undone at the very top near the neckline. Nines had rolled his sleeves up, thankfully, but he still seemed far too overdressed.

Gavin simply chose to wear grey shorts and a white t-shirt, already making himself slightly more ‘at home’ after ordering a small pizza for himself while having his first can of beer. But the beer wasn’t what he wanted to drink for the game. Instead, after he’d cleaned up after himself, he brought out of his freezer a series of cold, potent alcoholic beverages.

Stacking them up on the coffee table, Gavin showed off his Sunset Rum, Devil Springs Vodka, and Bacardi bottles before Nines openly. The android merely shook his head in disapproval, but otherwise remained silent until Gavin sat down on the floor and rubbed his hands together.

“Gonna need my phone for this, so hang tight, Nines…” While he fumbled for his phone, he felt just how rough and hard the floor was beneath his sore ass and legs, and he grunted in displeasure while trying to adjust and shift himself into a better position. Gavin soon discovered that there didn’t seem to be one, apparently.

When he’d squirmed about for far too long, Nines hissed thinly, “What’s the matter?”

“Dude,” Gavin pointed beneath himself, “get a carpet or something; my body hurts!”

“In case you failed to see, I happen to own a sofa.”

Gavin paused as he loaded up the questions he needed for the game, and then spat, “So?”

“So sit on it, then,” Nines huffed, “I hear that’s what they invented sofas for to begin with.”

Ignoring the blatant sarcasm, Gavin slid over the same empty glass he’d given Nines earlier. “Take this, and pretend there’s some whiskey in here, okay?”

Not wanting to argue, Nines replied shortly, “Okay, Reed.”

“Sweet.” Gavin scrolled through his phone, and when the questions came up, he explained quickly, “Okay, so basically, how this works is we each take turns reading these ‘Never Have I Ever’ statements on my phone, and according to the statement, if at some point in our lives we’ve done the action that the questions and statements in particular are about, then we gotta drink, and if you haven’t done what the statement is saying, then you don’t drink.”

Nines nodded, “Fair enough, Reed.”

Gavin grinned, “Can I start?”

“Thrill me,” Nines coldly hissed at him, and that was encouragement enough.

Giggling evilly, now, Gavin read out a random question his eyes landed on. “Never have I ever sent someone a dick pic.”

Right away, Gavin stared up at Nines, and the android frowned, not even reaching for his empty glass. Gavin sighed softly and tipped back his first shot. The burning sensation of strong booze hit his mouth and throat in the right way, and he truly realized just how much he’d missed drinking.

Nines however was slightly miffed, and he asked, “You sent a photo like that to someone?”

Not appreciating that he was being judged, Gavin shrugged, “I think all guys do it when they’re in relationships at some point.”

No comment came out of Nines, and Gavin pushed his phone over into the android’s hands. “Here, you read one.”

Nines went through the list, and after a few seconds, he glared at Gavin. “These are all dirty!”

“So?!”

“I’m not reading them!”

“You’re such a bitter virgin,” Gavin heatedly grunted. “Here, give me the phone back if you’re gonna be such a little chickenshit, then.”

“Gladly,” Nines retorted, eager enough to toss Gavin’s phone back at him.

Once Gavin caught the device, he refreshed the page and brought up new questions. Muttering to himself, he irritably announced, “Since you saw these ones, I’m gonna get a new batch to take you by surprise.”

Nines once again remained silent, and Gavin took that as a ‘green light’ to move on as he refreshed and reloaded the website housing the statements. Yearning for more alcohol already, he silently made a bet with himself that he wouldn’t be piss-drunk before midnight, but he had to wait it out…some of these questions were truly terrifying, to say the least.

Selecting a passable one eventually, he read out, “Never have I ever taken a sexy selfie.”

Nines quickly intervened, “We took a selfie together.”

“It wasn’t a sexy one though, was it?”

Pausing momentarily while he thought it over, Nines slowly grabbed the glass and pretended to drink. “I’m going to just count it anyway,” he dully explained, and Gavin shrugged as he too took a swig, but for a completely different reason.

Shaking his head as the heady sense of alcohol slammed into him, he continued with the game.

“Never have I ever flashed someone.”

The results were again easily predictable; Gavin drank, and Nines didn’t.

“Never have I ever sexted.”

Again, Gavin had his drink, and Nines sat back staring emptily at the table.

“Shit, Nines,” Gavin laughed, “gotta keep up somehow!”

All he received was a vicious glare, and he quickly moved on to the next question.

“Never have I ever watched porn!”

……

This time, Nines reached for the glass, first, and Gavin screamed out in shock, “I knew it! Hahaha! You perv!!”

Nines pointed out, “You’re also pouring yourself a cup of Bacardi, though…”

“So?” Gavin nearly spilled the drink, and he cursed himself for feeling tipsy already. “Everyone watches porn, but since when have you??”

LED light red with embarrassment, possibly, Nines sighed gently, “Well, it was more or less an accident on my end.”

“More or less,” Gavin chuckled, “go on, explain it for me, then.”

Nines held his glass over his lap as he stared down into it, as if searching for his answer there. Gavin allowed him to take his time, however, and when the pensive RK900 was ready, he spoke. “Well,” he began gently and lowly, “it was when I was trying to identify an unknown John Doe a few months ago before the Myers case, and Officer Miller told me that he personally suspected the guy I was looking for was someone named ‘Peter Norwood.’”

Gavin nodded, listening intently even though his eyes burned, his throat was parched, and his ears were somehow buzzing. He wouldn’t want to miss this for the world.

Almost shyly, Nines continued, “I accidentally searched up a man named Peter North, however, because Connor distracted me that day, and needless to say, I found out that Peter North is a bisexual Canadian porn star.”

When he was finished, he set his glass back on the table, struggling to look at anything else other than Gavin. Fighting hard to make eye contact, however, Gavin snickered, “You saw a clip of him fuckin’ someone, didn’t you?”

“Yes,” Nines answered truthfully. “I don’t want to talk about it anymore though, if it’s okay with you, Reed.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Gavin slurred, already under the influence while he poured himself more whiskey. “Whatever you want, Nines!!” Although his overtly curious nature tugged at him to ask more about Nines’ experience, he still felt a tad weird asking about such private things.

It was better to move on to another question.

Squinting at the screen, now, Gavin grumbled messily, “Never have I ever used Tinder to meet a date.”

Huffing angrily while he rolled his eyes way up towards the ceiling, Nines snapped, “Is there a real point to this, Reed?”

Gavin nodded slowly, “Umm yeah…we get to learn something about each other…come on, Nines! Don’t be a prude!”

“Stop calling me that!!” the vitriolic android barked at him. “I just don’t want you to drag this on and drink yourself to death!”

Waving his concerns off with an auspicious hand motion, Gavin purred ravenously, “Niiiines, chiiill! I’m not gonna drink so much that I’ll end up redecorating your walls with my barf!” Gavin then tipped his head back and flashed Nines a thumbs up. In no time at all, he was reading the next statement.

“Never have I ever peeked at someone else while they were changing!”

Again, he was a solo drinker, and Nines threw him dirty glares.

“Just how many of these crimes have you committed?” he asked when Gavin looked for the next statement.

Shrugging, Gavin whispered, “Who cares?”

…..

Another red colored LED light answered everything, but Gavin was already a bit too drunk to care. He found that as time went by, he was getting more and more inebriated, and Nines was getting angrier and angrier. They’d run out of ‘innocent’ questions, and soon, the only ones left were pretty ‘R’ rated, so Gavin again hit ‘refresh’ for more questions.

Gently tapping his index finger on the table, Nines muttered, “It’s getting late, Reed…I think we should stop.”

“Juuuust one m-mooore,” Gavin crowed out as he laughed through tears. “S’funny, Nines!”

“I assure you, watching you become more and more intoxicated is the polar opposite of funny, Reed,” Nines asserted. “In fact, it’s the very antithesis of the definition of the term!”

Clumsily, Gavin nearly smashed his Bacardi battle open against the glass table. Placing an index finger over his lips, he whistled out, “Shh, a feeeew more, Nines!”

“You—”

Wagging his fingers in the air, Gavin sang, “Neeever have I evaaaaarr m-m-made out wiiiiith s-s-someone of th-the same gen-n-nder!!”

“Reed! Stop it!” Nines warned, but Gavin shook his head.

“Weeeelll, shiiit.” Blowing a raspberry with his tongue and mouth, he added, “Guesssss that’sssss one I c-c-caaaan’t driiiink toooo, maaaann!!”

“Good!” Nines cried out in anger, making a reach for the bottles, “let’s go to bed, now!”

Tilting his head back, Gavin belted out loudly for the world to hear, “Ooooone moreeee baaabbyyy!!”

This time, Nines got to his feet abruptly, and he gathered the bottles to his chest. Using his free hand to try and yank Gavin up as well, he failed when Gavin crashed down onto his back while still holding on to his phone tightly.

“Reed! Get up!!”

“Neeeeeveeer haaave I evaaaarrrr h-haaad a c-c-crush on aaaa co-worker!!!!”

Gasping in fake pleasure, Nines stomped a foot down as he cried in glee, “Well, look at that, Reed! There’s another one you can’t drink to, so let me just—”

Rearing up too suddenly, Gavin grabbed the bottom of the Sunset Rum, and he popped the cap open. Before Nines could stop him, Gavin moved back along the shiny, grey floorboards as he giggled almost childishly. Tossing a small wink at Nines, he stated, “I haaaave toooo drrrriiink, Niiines!!! Beeecause I h-have a c-c-crush on a co-w-w-worker riiight nowww…”

Wincing, Nines said, “I’m sure Officer Chen would appreciate hearing that in person, so just give me the bottle, Gavin, and we’ll—”

Gasping painfully, a saddened expression befell Gavin as he desperately cried back, “Noooo, not Tiiinaaa, youuuu stoooopiiiiid pieeecee of craaaap…” Gripping Nines’ pant legs, he coughed out in one go, “I haaaaveee aaaaa crruusssh on y-y-yooouuu!!”

Nines couldn’t believe he almost dropped all the bottles he’d been cradling.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gavin moves in with Nines, and on the first night, he literally makes an ass out of himself.  
*Sigh*


	9. And You And I

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nines takes care of Gavin and muses on how he feels about the man. 
> 
> Take it all with a grain of salt!!

Gavin Reed was on the brink of passing out right then and there on his living room floor, and Nines had no idea what to do. Not because the human male was highly intoxicated, but because of what he’d just confessed to.

Gavin Reed had feelings for _him_?!

For once in his creation, Nines truly doubted himself, wondering if he’d even heard the man clearly in his inebriated state, or if he himself had somehow been wrong, and Gavin was referring to someone else they worked with?

…….

But he had stated that he had feelings for Nines specifically…for him and him alone…

Oh, who was he kidding?? Gavin Reed didn’t have feelings for him and never, ever would in a hundred thousand years!! Nines knew better than this, and he’d known for a while that when humans went above a certain level of intoxication, nothing they said or did made any sense. Loose lipped as they may have been, no words uttered could’ve been taken that seriously, as it wasn’t at all near the truth of what reality depicted and painted when they were sober. There was a clear distinction between drunken rambling and coherent, articulate dialogue and conversation, and Nines was aware of the differences.

As odd and erratic as the behavior Gavin had displayed was, Nines wasn’t callously idiotic and foolish enough to buy into it all seriously. Gavin had no control over what he said in this state, of course, and he likely wouldn’t even remember it come dawn. It was a lot wiser for him to forget what had been said and abandon it entirely, so it seemed.

Staring down at the passed-out Gavin Reed while he collected his thoughts, Nines decided to help move the detective into a more comfortable resting position. Picking him up without much of a fuss, he gently laid him out on the sofa, and Gavin naturally sprawled himself over it with a sloppy, lopsided grin plastered over his face.

Nines wondered if he was still cognizant, so he waved a hand before Gavin’s face, testing to see whether he would gain some kind of a reaction.

After a moment, Gavin mumbled incoherently, “Mmmffuuuck off, maaa.”

There was then a retort perched on the tip of Nines’ tongue, but his mind was pulled in too many different directions at once. The longer he studied the sleepy Gavin, the faster he found himself unable to control his own reactions upon seeing such a sight…he truly couldn’t help it; he was mesmerized by just what kind of a fascinating specimen Gavin Reed happened to truly be.

Never before had Nines taken time to actually observe Gavin this much, but all things considered, now, the situation he’d been trapped in revolving around spending long hours with detective Reed when the exigencies of the man’s socio-economic status and future livelihood demanded it seemed to be too difficult to avoid.

They were in this together, somehow, and this thought terrified Nines beyond belief.

With a displeased sigh, Nines gathered that it wasn’t as easy to regard Gavin as he once had. No, he couldn’t say the human male was insipid. His psychosis was no longer dull and pedestrian as Nines originally gathered. Upon meeting the man for the first time ever two years ago, Nines initially concluded that Gavin Reed was a lump of clay that not even the most talented sculptor could fashion into art. The way he carried himself and presented himself had always been so shabby, messy, erratic, sporadic, aggressive, belligerent, and banal at times. It couldn’t be helped that despite all of Captain Fowler’s nurturing and instructing, the rebellious, spunky detective was doomed to consistently wallow in the depths of mediocrity.

…Or so Nines once thought. It appeared however that humans were constantly surprising him with their levels of unpredictability, but while he feared Gavin’s random outbursts and strange behavioral patterns, he still found it all refreshing.

Nines gave a slanted smile as he looked upon Gavin fast asleep. Here was an odd, enigmatic man sleeping away in his living room. The drunken detective’s body was glistening with perspiration, and he tossed and turned marginally in his sleep so he was lying on his side as opposed to his back. As he moved, his dark brown hair became matted and pressed down onto his forehead messily, but Nines found it made Gavin appear somewhat younger. Now, he wasn’t frowning, and the corners of his eyes weren’t marred with wrinkles and creases as often could be found given the aggressive ‘mask’ Gavin wore during work hours.

No, now, Gavin seemed… ‘freer’…

He was, Nines noted dispassionately, a rather attractive man; dark, straight lengths of hair fleeting over an angelic face. However, the man had shrunk into his sofa, trying to make himself as small as possible while he dreamt who knew what behind those closed eyelids. His eyelashes fluttered as he entered deep REM sleep, Nines supposed, and as he knelt down by Gavin’s side, he whispered gently, “I do wonder what you dream about, Gavin.”

It wasn’t something he’d even uttered lightly; he really wondered just what could be at the very center of Gavin’s dreams, visiting him every night as he slept soundly.

As Nines watched Gavin, the male blurted out something randomly, and then smiled a lopsided smile as he wiggled against the seats of the sofa.

Nines’ eyebrows shot up, but he remained silent while Gavin stirred once again and then hiccupped softly. An immediate sense of concern flooded Nines’ mind.

Was Gavin comfortable in such a state? Did he prefer sleeping on a bed??

Not wanting to move the man to wake him, Nines barely tapped him on his shoulder, only to have Gavin emit a low growl as he turned his back to the android and faced in the opposite direction.

Seeing this dynamic shift, Nines would’ve assumed that it was a gesture of deference, but the other man’s chin was tilted in an unmistakably defiant angle. As such, Nines felt something stirring deeply within himself, some primal corner of his nature. The android bared his teeth at Gavin’s turned back. He wanted to punish this insolent man for his disrespect when he’d been so concerned about his state of well-being!

However, before Nines could rudely shake Gavin out of his drunken stupor, the shorter male reached up with his arms and stretched. As he did, however, his natural body odors flew up into the air before Nines. Like a bloodhound, the android took a deep whiff, and his entire system was now far more alert than ever before. Scent wasn’t always easy for an android to discern in the first place, but for some reason, Gavin’s scent imprinted rather quickly on Nines.

And what a unique scent it was…it seemed almost floral, and it reminded Nines of the plants he housed and nurtured. His senses worked on overdrive as he took it all in, resisting the urge to practically bend over and bury the tip of his nose in Gavin’s hair.

To do that to the pliant detective while he slept would result in an unavoidable altercation, no doubt, and it was morally and ethically wrong to do that. Nines wouldn’t even bring himself to fathom doing such a horrible deed, so he backed off and moved as far away from the sofa as possible.

It was so rare that anything in his day-to-day life stirred up such extreme emotions. Nines held onto the feeling, trying to analyze where it had come from, and what it was about this strange new side to Gavin Reed that had caused it. While he’d been pondering it, Gavin’s face suddenly changed, clenching in an expression of pain. It was a worrying sight, and given how abrupt it was, Nines felt flustered. Scanning the sleeping human, he figured it had to be a nasty bodily reaction from all the alcohol, no doubt.

It was even getting worse for Gavin. Although he managed to smooth out his clenched and pained facial expression almost immediately, Nines had seen it, and his growing sense of concern wasn’t going away that easily. Notions of suffering made even the android’s usually blank face stunningly pained; empathy was as real to him as a Renaissance painting, a warm summer breeze, or an orchestra playing sweet, godly music for the world to hear.

What was he feeling??

Staring down at Gavin, he saw how full his lips looked even in the midst of a pained grimace! Nines began to wonder just how much bluer those eyes would look if they were glazed with tears? What about when Gavin smiled broadly in the throes of passion and utmost tranquility?? What did that feel like?

Realizing suddenly just how envious of humans he was, Nines nearly broke down. He’d always withheld a meticulous persona, completely incapable of feeling vindicated or offended. Nothing people said before ever got to him, as he’d prided himself on remaining as cold and detached while he watched how humans behaved. Yes, they’d always fascinated him to some degree, but he knew now that never before had he been so entranced by one human.

His control would have to be rectified in the future, he noted.

For now, he resumed watching Gavin, his eyes and head moving and tilting in time with the motions Gavin’s body made as he tossed and turned around and around.

Muttering to himself gently, Nines hissed, “What am I _really_ doing??”

Though he forlornly thought of the sacrifice he’d been making, the estranged android felt he didn’t know nearly enough about Gavin to answer his own question. After all, how could he? The pieces of the odd puzzle he had currently available couldn’t fit together to form the entire picture, and Connor had warned him against leaping to conclusions when it came to humans and their unpredictable natures.

Yes, the RK800 had been correct, sadly. It was inconceivable that merely from second and third hand encounters he had all the tools and techniques to know every little detail when it came to Gavin Reed. Nines yearned and longed to know more, but he would be damned if he dared to ask. As it so happened, he was confrontational enough as it was, and he knew he didn’t exactly come off as the world’s most approachable creature, but he was trying to make a change for himself, at least. It was all the effort he could put in for himself to get through, and for…

For Gavin?? Was he doing this for Gavin, as well??

No…no he wasn’t. After all, how could he?

To the rude, brazen detective currently snoozing away on his sofa, this was all about money, and Nines was only in on this because he hated being indebted to someone.

That’s what this was all about.

Mildly content with this, he knew that tonight would pass like any other as long as he kept himself in check, and they could go on just ignoring the elephant in the room until things could return back to normal.

Well, that’s what Nines really wanted, but he knew that would never happen…

Did he want it to happen? Did Gavin want for it to happen?

Uncomfortable by all these questions flooding into his mind, Nines chose instead to switch to didactic methods and measures that would hopefully set out to not only protect himself from Gavin’s ulterior motives, but also shield himself from getting too close and too deep into this.

Once he was pulled in beyond the point of no return, he feared he wouldn’t be able to get himself out of it. Not until it was too late, anyway, and that’s what the fearless RK900 genuinely feared.

~ѰѰѰѰѰ~

_You’re just too good to be true,_

_I can’t take my eyes off of you,_

_You’d be like heaven to touch,_

_I wanna hold you so much…_

_At long last love has arrived,_

_and I thank God I’m alive…_

Gavin felt his head pounding like a damn hammer drilling and slamming into concrete, and his stomach tossed and churned like a violent, uncontrollable tidal wave during a dark stormy night. He felt like utter shit, to say the least, and what pissed him off was that he was sure he was hearing things, too…it sounded like music, perhaps?

It wasn’t a song he recognized in particular, but even though it was so soft and serene as it played in the background, to his sensitive ears, it sounded like a damn rock concert, and he felt like he was right beside every HD speaker in the world.

Everything ached…

Sitting up with a groan, Gavin felt his stomach heaving mightily.

He was going to be sick.

Slapping a hand over his mouth and breathing in and out through his nose while his nostrils flared crazily, he let out muffled cries as he closed his eyes and tilted his head back, trying to ignore the fact that his head literally was about to explode, and a shit ton of alcohol and stomach acid were climbing up from his stomach all the way towards his esophagus…

Mumbling through the small spaces between his fingers, he groaned, “Niiiines, dooo youuu have a-aaa buuuucket?? Gonnnaaaa beeee siick!”

Soft footsteps pattered their way towards him, and when Gavin barely summoned up enough strength to open his eyes a little, he saw the tall, lean android approaching from the side. He’d been in the ‘kitchen’, it seemed, and he scowled down at Gavin while shaking his head in clear disdain.

“If you vomit all over my floor or the sofa, Reed, I swear, I’ll make you clean it all up with your own fingers and no gloves will be allowed or given to you.”

The threat bounced and rolled off Gavin’s shoulders as he hugged himself and fought against shivering. To shake and let the tremors go through himself would only make it so that his brain knocked against his skull and rolled around in his cranium, and he couldn’t take all that pain. Cradling his head, he tried drowning out every possible noise, even if that meant shutting off the noises in his head.

Everything was so loud and echoed terribly!

Nines eyed him with nothing but caution, “How’s that migraine?”

Gavin only flipped him off as a result, and Nines chuckled.

“Charming,” he purred out while rounding on Gavin as a look of sheer delight crossed his features. “Luckily for you, I have Ibuprofen, but I don’t have a bucket…”

Gavin got up immediately when he felt his stomach rising up and down as if it were bouncing on a trampoline built inside his body. “Mmm gonna throw up!!” With that warning uttered, he turned and ran towards the kitchen so he could vomit into the sink, hopefully, but Nines grabbed him by the back of the shirt quickly.

Hurriedly dragging Gavin towards the bathroom, in no time at all, he turned on the lights and pushed Gavin inside first. To the intoxicated detective’s amusement and awe, all the soil, gardening materials, boxes, and wood had been completely removed from the bathroom, and it actually looked like a genuine bathroom…except for the fact that there was still no mirror present.

Throwing open the toilet bowl lid, Nines made sure Gavin didn’t bash his forehead and skull against the actual bowl, and he steadied the adult male as he shoved his own face directly into the center of the toilet and threw up violently.

It sounded horrifying, it looked terrifying, and it smelled absolutely unearthly.

And yet, Nines didn’t want to go.

Gavin took a small break, raising his head and wiping his lips with a trembling hand. While he gulped in mouthfuls of fresh air, he glared over to the side at Nines, and as if seeing him for the first time ever, he snarled, “Th-the fuck are y-you doing in here?!”

Nines rolled his blue eyes, “I can’t exactly leave you in this state, Detective Reed, what if you hurt yourself somehow?”

“I can take c-care of myse—oh god…” Once again, his eyes widened, his shoulders shook terribly, and he vomited again for almost half a minute.

Leaning back, Nines sat with his back and shoulders against the vanity, and he sighed, “Let it all out, Detective; I’m fine with being here all night if that’s what it’ll take.”

Halfway through vomiting, Gavin roared, “L-like fuuuck I’m g-gonna be s-s-stuck in heeere with you all niiiight!!” Again, he took to puking for a while, and Nines merely waved him off.

“We’ll talk when you’re sober, Detective,” he stated logically. “I doubt you can even hardly remember much of anything that happened barely an hour ago.”

For some reason, Gavin took this statement rather offensively. Sitting up on his knees, he grabbed a clean wad of toilet paper, and he wiped his mouth and tongue with it before clearing his throat and glaring at Nines. A thin sheen of sweat covered practically all over his face and neck, but he held a most defiant, rebellious look on his face that made Nines nearly double over in shock.

“What’s with that look, Reed?” Nines growled angrily, already on edge so easily and quickly, much to his own dismay.

Gavin snarled back, “Th-the hell does that mean?”

“What does what mean?”

Not giving up, the irate human snapped, “What you j-just said!”

Pausing, Nines finally let it sink in. “Oh,” his LED light stopped flashing yellow. “Well, for starters, do you remember saying this?” Clearing his throat, his LED light flashed blue once, and then, perfectly imitating Gavin’s voice 100%, he repeated: “Niiiines, chiiill! I’m not gonna drink so much that I’ll end up redecorating your walls with my barf!”

Rubbing his left temple with his left hand, Gavin cringed as he wheezed in a raw voice, “Fuuuck, Nines, don’t be doin’ that shit when I’m piss drunk! It’s fucked up!”

“Well,” Nines clicked out, “that’s what you said about an hour ago, need I remind you.”

Groaning, Gavin whispered, “I wonder wh-what else I said…”

Cruelly, Nines taunted him, “Oh, nothing much; you just also admitted to me that you once ran through your old police academy buck naked while singing a Spice Girls song.”

Looking even more sickly than ever, Gavin whimpered, “P-please t-t-tell me that shit isn’t t-true…th-that didn’t happen!!!”

An impish look was what met his eyes, “You’re right; it was a Lady Gaga song, come to think of it.”

“Stop, dude!”

Nines smirked, “I was kidding, Reed.”

“Oh, you’re such a biiii---blaaarrgh!!” He couldn’t even complete his sentence when the urge and need to puke took over once again.

“Point made, Reed,” the detached android spat as he got up and flushed the toilet. Turning away from the sick swirling around in the bowl and heading down the drain, he pointed at Gavin sharply as he asked, “Are you done, or is there room for more?”

The exhausted man barely managed to shrug, “I think I’m d-done.”

“Good.” Nines’ next task was to make sure Gavin somehow got into the shower without drowning himself, but he didn’t actually want to be there while Gavin actually showered.

How could he put this without seeming…bizarre?

As if reading his mind and thoughts, Gavin held out a hand, “Help me off the floor.”

Nines did so, and as he pulled up the wary detective, he turned his head to the side in revulsion when Gavin coughed in his face. “Detective!” Nines cried in anger, “would you mind keeping your vomit-scented breath to yourself, for now and all times?!”

“Sorry, Nines.”

Turning his nose up at Gavin, Nines icily hissed, “Yes, I can see how ‘sorry’ you are about it indeed, Detective.” Hoisting him up, he allowed him to lean on the glass shower doors, and momentarily backing off him, he moved back inside his own bedroom where he remembered Gavin had stored a gym bag full of his own fresh clothes.

Not even bothering to ask Gavin what he wanted to wear, he pulled out a pair of grey pajama bottoms and a thin white sweater. It would do, and if Gavin wanted to put up a fuss, then he was more than welcome to dress himself afterwards.

Once he returned to the bathroom, Gavin was already prying the sliding doors open, but he nearly lost his balance and tumbled in dangerously. Nines’ fast reflexes however managed to save him, and he threw Gavin’s clothes onto the countertop of the vanity while gently tugging on Gavin’s shirt.

Ignoring the saliva and vomit stains already on it, Nines managed to roll it halfway up his chest, when Gavin snapped out of his alcohol-induced state of ‘high’.

Slapping Nines’ hands roughly, he roared, “What the hell?!?”

“Shut up!” Nines barked, “do you have _any_ idea what time it is?!”

Pushing his shirt back down almost desperately, Gavin looked Nines up and down in fear. “Yeah!” he answered, “time for me to get molested, apparently!!”

“Oh, shut up, Reed,” Nines growled dangerously. “I don’t want you stinking up the place with your puke! So just have a shower, and then get to sleep!”

Nodding, Gavin quickly said, “Okay, but can you like, leave?”

Biting his lower lip in irritation, Nines retorted, “Yeah, I’m going to like, leave now.”

“Appreciate it, dickwad!” Gavin elbowed him in the chest roughly, but as Nines backed away and held onto the side of the door, another thought struck into his mind and worried him sick.

Gavin was still rather weak. What if something horrible happened to him while he was alone in the bathroom?

Almost slapping himself across the face when he realized how fragile and annoying humans were at times, Nines moved out of the bathroom, but he stuck his head inside and forced himself to stare down at the floor when he noticed Gavin pulling up his own shirt to disrobe. “Reed,” he grumbled, “I’m going to be waiting on the other side of the door, and I won’t close it all the way.” When he saw the angry look in Gavin’s eyes, he supplied, “I’m not spying or peeking in on you; I just don’t want you to drown.”

Turning back around, Gavin was convinced rather quickly, and he pressed out, “Okay, weirdo.”

“Great,” backing away completely, Nines tucked his head out of the bathroom, and not even a few minutes later, the water was already running, and Gavin had slid the shower doors shut. Nines waited awkwardly for a moment, but then he heard Gavin sighing, coughing, and then sighing again.

“What’s going on, Reed?” Nines worriedly inquired, eyeing steam rising up from under the doorway.

After a few seconds, Gavin replied, “Nothin’, just talk to me if you can, even though this is weird.”

Initially wanting to mock Gavin for stating this, Nines suddenly found he genuinely had some questions for the snarky detective after all.

Pressing himself against the door, he spoke softly, “What does your mother do for a living?”

Gavin hummed, “She’s a university professor.”

This shocked and stunned Nines. Truthfully, he had underestimated Gavin’s lineage quite badly, though he didn’t want to admit to the man that he’d originally surmised that his entire family consisted of college dropouts and punks.

Nodding in bewilderment, he then asked, “What does she teach?”

“Science and biology,” Gavin swiftly and cleanly replied back. “She got her PhD in it a while ago.”

Intrigued further, Nines pushed on, “Which University?”

“Fordham University,” Gavin responded, clearly not minding the slew of questions as he expounded on that subject deeper. “She manages the Graduate of Science department in Biological Sciences.”

Completely taken aback by all the new information, Nines could only utter, “I see…that’s…that’s very interesting, Reed. I’m sure you’re proud of her.”

For the longest time, Nines supposed he’d somehow gone and offended Gavin. The entire bathroom was horrendously and fiercely silent, but Nines knew Gavin hadn’t fainted or hurt himself; he still sensed and was able to receive human motion alerts in his system.

However, he also read clearly that Gavin’s heart rate had accelerated exponentially, and he was highly stressed out.

All that had catered to Nines not feeling shocked or surprised when Gavin changed the topic drastically.

“Hey, Nines?”

“Hmm?”

“I heard music before…right as I was waking up…was that you?”

…….

“No, Detective Reed,” Nines looked down at his hands, and they were shaking slightly. He clenched them tightly into two fists, and he got a hold of himself as best as he could while he leaned his back straight up against the door.

Standing as tall as he could, he glared into the dark hallway before solidifying his final response.

“You must’ve imagined it, Detective.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ngl, I like Nines' odd sense of humor. It's quirky and somewhat snarky, but not in a hurtful way.


	10. Night Routine

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Domestication at its quintessential best.

Nines waltzed into the bedroom with a bottle of cold water he purchased from the vending machines down the hall, and as he held it before Gavin, he also held up in his opposite hand an Ibuprofen.

“For the migraine,” he announced when Gavin stared at it for far too long.

Nodding strangely, Gavin grabbed the pill and downed it in one go with a large gulp of water. Flashing Nines a thumbs-up when he was halfway through the bottle and satiated as far as his thirst went, he muttered a simple, “Thanks.”

The debonair android merely grunted, and as he walked past the bed, he turned to the left and opened his bedroom closet doors. As Gavin watched in awe, Nines pulled out a large, rectangular container-like object. It looked like some kind of a chamber of sorts, and it was transparent save for some tiny wires and tubes at the very bottom. Those wires were eerie looking and attached to a tiny terminal on the side of the ‘box’ that emitted a small green light the moment Nines touched it.

Blinking rapidly a few times, Gavin eventually cried out, “This is way too sci-fi for my ass right now.”

“It’s mine,” Nines responded randomly as he moved the object along the floors as quickly as possible, almost shifting around on purpose so that Gavin couldn’t see him properly do whatever it was he was doing.

Gavin gaped at him before picking his jaw up and asking, “So…what’s that, Nines?”

Sliding a tiny door Gavin hadn’t been able to see before there on the object open, Nines sighed, “It’s how I charge myself every night, Detective.”

“I don’t see other androids doing that,” Gavin retorted, but when Nines clearly pointed out the CyberLife logo etched onto the glass, the detective waved at him dismissively.

Tilting his head at him, then, Nines elucidated, “You’ve surely seen ‘android charging terminals’ around the city before, have you not?”

Gavin grunted in a reply instead of talking properly.

Ignoring the rudeness, Nines gestured to the object, “Well, there’s your answer, except mine is specifically designed for only my model, as I am a unique prototype.”

Approaching the object, Gavin asked, “So if for example Connor went into this thing, would he fry up?” He couldn’t help but laugh as he clearly imagined that happening to Connor, but he was sure to wipe off his sadistic smirk when he saw the tiny scowl Nines throwing his way.

“Not really, Detective,” came the short, curt response, “but it isn’t good for his system either way.”

“So, this baby can charge other objects, too?”

Never having been faced with such an odd question before, Nines wavered before he came up with an answer he truly had to guess. “I…I estimate that it could be possible, yes.” Eyes flickering up into Gavin’s, he then took his turn to ask a question, “Why do you inquire?”

Shrugging nonchalantly, Gavin stated, “Oh, no reason, was just curious if it would be able to rev up my dildo collection every once in a while.”

………

The look Nines gave him then was one that coexisted between a blend of pain, disgust, shock, and absolute horror.

Gavin’s lopsided grin immediately died down. “I was kidding, I swear,” he covered for himself while Nines slowly got moving again. While the android’s fingers slipped a few times off the sides of the charger, Gavin coughed out, “I legit don’t own dildos, I promise.”

“Right,” Nines coughed violently, and seeing as androids didn’t need to do that, it was nothing but a forced, noncommittal gesture. “I’m going to go, now, but if you need anything, you can ask me.”

Feeling mortified, Gavin noticed how Nines purposefully wasn’t making any eye contact with him while taking his charger out of the bedroom. “Err, good night?” Gavin awkwardly sang out at his turned back, “I mean…night, dude?”

Pausing once he was further down the hall, Gavin was able to see Nines’ shadow cast on the white, blank walls before he ground out painfully, “Good night, Detective Reed.”

Not even bothering to ask if he could close the bedroom door, Gavin did so anyway, and when the door gave out a soft ‘click’, he nearly punched himself in the face. Why did everything have to be so awkward around Nines, anyway?! Gavin found he couldn’t relate to Nines at all! He couldn’t joke with the serious android like he did with his friends, and that sucked!! He missed being able to throw out a nasty, ‘R’ rated joke every once in a while, and garnering a good, hearty laugh with his buddies. He missed being able to drink and stay out late at nights laughing it up all around town while trying to flirt with and pick up all sorts of women. He missed not having to over-explain himself or his actions, as people around him just had a natural affinity to understand him, and since they were of like minds, they just ‘got it’!

But how could he do any of these things and truly enjoy them when he was around Nines?!

They hardly shared anything in common!!!

Assessing it all finally now that he was sober, Gavin leaned back on his new, clean Hemnes bed and stared up at the bright ceiling for a while.

“Shit,” he eventually muttered to himself as he stroked his chin, “just what in the hell do I have in common with Nines, anyway?!” Even for the purposes of pretense, he was genuinely curious, and he already began making comparisons.

Nines was fashionable, often looking quite dapper in his dark, silk suits and meticulous clothes, while Gavin usually donned jeans and a t-shirt on warmer days, and on colder days, jeans and a sweater that sometimes was only washed twice a week at best. Nines wasn’t much of a hoarder, and yet he was. Nines never had trash heaps and dirty clothes all over his living room, and Gavin had his own personal brand of obstacle courses to go through on a regular basis in his apartment. Nines was quiet, reserved, and often watched what he said, and Gavin had no social filter, and loose lips. While Nines had an odd sense of humor, it was a vastly dry one, and differed greatly in comparison to Gavin’s. To understand most of Nines’ jokes, Gavin sometimes had to think deeply, and when it came to comedy, he wasn’t a fan of thinking about it all as if he were out on solving a case. Gavin was loutish, crass, rude, tardy, and had a general fixation on keeping up with a dilatory attitude, and Nines was outstanding in his work, decorous around just about anyone who crossed his path.

What. The. Hell. Did. They. Have. In. Common?!?!?

Suddenly, the lights above were too bright, and his lungs ached and burned with a familiar need…only one thing would solve this conundrum and hopefully soothe his nerves before he could fall into a somewhat ‘peaceful’ sleep.

Inching across the bed, Gavin leaned down and yanked his gym bag up on the side of the bed, and as he dug out a cigarette from his freshly purchased pack, he then dragged out his lighter. “Ahh, hello baby,” he purred at his red colored lighter with a topless blonde woman decorating the length. “Finally, we’re alone at last…”

He’d barely flicked the lighter on, when on the other side of the wall, Nines’ voice came booming at his ears.

“You can’t smoke in here, Reed.”

Gavin lost it right then and there.

Throwing his lighter and cigarette down to the floor in a tiny burst of rage, he screamed, “SCREW YOU, NINES!!”

……

Silence came from the other side of the wall, but just when Gavin tried lying back down, Nines called out to him again.

“Feel better, now?”

Truthfully, he really did, but he would never admit that to Nines; not in a thousand years.

~ѰѰѰѰѰ~

Sleeping in an unfamiliar place naturally woke Gavin up way earlier than he would’ve liked, and Gavin was quite the grumpy son of a bitch when he hadn’t received a full, proper night’s rest. Then again, so were other people, of course, but Gavin really, _really_ took it to an extreme.

Not even bothering to shave first and foremost, a highly irritable and short-tempered Gavin Reed untangled himself from the sweaty mass of sheets, and he stormed over into the living room. Surprisingly, Nines was still in his charger chamber…

Finding the android sitting on a tiny plastic stool within the charging chamber, Gavin froze as he stared Nines up and down slowly. Was he in stasis?! Gavin didn’t have the faintest clue, because Nines’ eyelids were tightly shut, and his LED light was off.

Nines didn’t even stir as Gavin approached, but the detective noticed that as he grew closer, he saw that the transparent door to the charging chamber had been left wide open. Perhaps for the purpose of making it easier to get out if Nines was needed, Gavin supposed. But this was still so weird!!! How did Nines even rest in this damn thing?!

Steadily approaching, as Gavin decreased the gap between his own body and Nines’ within the chamber, he found that the android’s long, slim left leg had been draped over the right, which was slightly stretched out. Nines was swaying and leaning more so to the left, and even his left arm hung loosely and limply down by his side. It was so bizarre and eerie, but Gavin was drawn to it, somehow. Approaching more and more, he wondered if Nines was ‘awake’ in some way…

Wanting to test it, the curious man stretched out a hand while still making the last few steps. Now, he was barely an inch away from Nines; an inch away from touching the back of his right hand, which was lying draped across his lap.

Fingers trembling and hovering in the air, Gavin swallowed down his anxiety abruptly. There was a green light still pulsating beneath Nines, and it seemed to be coming from the bottom of the charging chamber. What did that mean?!

Caught up in his curiosity, Gavin took one final step towards Nines. His hand was trembling like a naked, thin branch caught up in the violent blows of the wind, much like how it was right now outside.

He’d almost touched Nines, now…closer, closer, closer…

Staring intently at the RK900’s closed eyelids, Gavin nearly made a grab for his right hand, just to see if he was really not going to get up, yet.

……

And he’d missed the exact moment when the green light ceased pulsating, and Nines’ fingers moved ever so slightly. Rearing up almost violently, Nines’ right hand latched onto Gavin’s just a second before Gavin could even make physical contact with the android. As a result from the shocking, jarring motion, Gavin let out a loud yelp and backed off after jumping into the air a few inches.

“THE FUCK!?!”

Nines merely smiled at him, righting his body posture up straightly as he lowered his left leg down to the floor to join the right. “Good morning, Detective,” he hummed on a wonderfully deep note, then stared out the clear glass barriers of his charging chamber. “I hope you slept well?”

Gavin recoiled as the RK900 stretched up and gave him an odd grin while reaching out of the charging chamber. When Nines took notice of how strangely Gavin was eyeing him, he froze, frowned deeply in thought, and asked, “Something wrong?”

The detective immediately backed away, “Nah, not first thing in the morning, jackass,” his body trembled, reminding him that mornings were now always colder than they had been in the summer months. “I need a fuckin’ shave and a shower before I deal with your weird shit today.”

Nines merely brushed his white dress shirt off coolly, “Good luck doing that without a mirror,” he chuckled at Gavin, and the detective growled under his breath.

“It’s not that hard, genius,” he spat venomously. “It’s not like I’m training for the U.S. Navy SEALs!!”

Nines looked down at his feet. “If you say so, Detective, but I’m here should you require any assistance.”

Gavin decided that wasn’t going to be an option, and his body had already entered the bathroom before his mind even registered where he was. It seemed he was really intent and eager to get away from Nines after the oddities of the morning he’d seen the android displaying.

Why was Nines so freaking weird?! Couldn’t he have picked someone else to play his fiancé?!

“Too bad all my exes hate me,” Gavin sighed to himself, hurrying to adjust the water of the shower. In no time at all, he’d cleaned himself for the second time in less than eight hours, but it was more so to refresh himself and look a tad prim and proper than anything else. Feeling calmer once he stepped out, he stood awkwardly before the vanity and sink, staring at the white wall that held no god damn mirror at all on it.

Stupid Nines.

“Whatever,” Gavin hissed to himself, “I can manage this; I’ve shaved many times before in my life!!”

For some reason, he found that all thoughts of Nines were suddenly so annoying to him. As he held tightly onto his razor and turned on the water to fill up the sink slightly, he growled and muttered a few expletives under his breath, aiming majority of them towards Nines. As he went along waiting while the steam of the water rose and grew thick, he wet his face, and began lathering and soaping up his face all over.

When it felt ‘good’ and ‘ready’ enough, Gavin began shaving away as gently as he could. After a few of the blind motions, he suddenly smelled the familiar, potent smell of coffee wafting into the bathroom from behind himself…

He missed coffee…

And right then as he’d been distracted for the moment, Gavin nicked himself pretty badly along the chin. Throwing his head back and screaming in both pain and anger while a few drops of blood pattered into the water within the sink, it wasn’t long at all before the bathroom door opened with a small ‘creak’.

Nines stared ahead at him from the doorway, “You rang?”

Cradling his chin while the stinging sensation from the soap really burned and singed deeply, Gavin hissed, “PISS OFF!!!”

As if that would do anything to ward off the inquisitive RK900. Nines followed him in the bathroom, standing behind him as he got out from the vanity cupboard a professional, expensive shaving kit. Eyeing it nervously, Gavin waited while Nines set up.

“I step away for hardly a few minutes to get you some coffee, and already you’ve hurt yourself?” Nines tsked. “Well done, Detective.”

“You stupid freak!” Gavin snapped while pointing to his cut chin. “_This_ shit is why you get a fuckin’ mirror!!”

Ignoring him for a moment, Nines was simply beside himself with zeal and grace as he inched himself right before Gavin and grabbed his face with a strong hand. Only putting up a small fuss, Gavin eventually calmed down and relaxed himself when Nines eyed him seriously, and he held up the black Remington electric razor. It was already on, and as he gently touched it to Gavin’s upper right cheek, he turned his gaze away from Gavin’s eyes.

Simply being reduced to standing there, Gavin looked at the ceiling while Nines gracefully and gently shaved his entire right cheek in barely a few minutes. He did a rather good job, cleaning off the razor with a clean cloth before going over the last bits of stubble one last time.

“This isn’t so bad, is it, Detective?” he asked Gavin as he began lathering the left side of his face. Gavin said nothing as Nines’ free hand rubbed the soap up and down and all over his face. The RK900’s hand moved forward, and it traced a few shapes onto his soapy face while Nines emitted a gentle purr.

“Stop it!” Gavin slapped Nines’ hands away and reapplied soap where the android had playfully smeared it awkwardly. After a few more attempts-each of them a failure due to Nines pushing and shrugging the annoyed detective’s hands down, Gavin gave up. He allowed Nines to turn him around completely, shaving away calmly while a tiny smile formed in the corners of his lips.

Gavin scowled at him for it. “Glad you can do this without the use of a mirror, but do I have to drag you in here each and every time I need to shave?!” He wasn’t a god damn baby! He didn’t need help all the time!!!

As he scraped away at his stubble so tenderly, the RK900 stepped around and stared at his own hands while they guided the razor about his skin. Every time Nines made the electric razor skate along Gavin’s face, the other man felt the steady hum and vibrations rivet him in place even more. With his feet firmly planted on the cold white tiles, he raised a brow at the RK900 and leaned forward curiously. Evidently, he shouldn’t have done that, for Nines abruptly pushed him back in his original spot by placing a hand right over Gavin’s now smooth left-cheek.

As Nines guided the razor over the rest of the areas he’d missed, he threw Gavin a fleeting glance. Gruffly, he commented, “There is a solution to this torment after all, Detective Reed…” Stopping the razor in time before it hit the wounded area around Gavin’s chin, Nines listened to the shorter male sigh while he set down the electric razor for a moment as soon as he’d turned it off.

Once Nines turned on the warm water, Gavin snorted, “Oh yeah? And what’s your solution then, smartass?”

Making sure to clean out whatever gunk and soap was on the razor blades, Nines took his time before a light growl sounded out of him, first. “Perhaps you should grow a beard, Detective,” he suggested as he dried off the razor and wiped it the rest of it down.

When he motioned for Gavin to wash his face, the shorter male rebelliously shook his head.

“No way am I gonna grow facial pubes, Nines,” he argued. “You can consider it a cold day in hell before I fuckin’ do that.”

Shrugging quickly, Nines said, “Noted, Detective, but don’t you want to talk about what happened a few days ago when we were out shopping?”

Of all times to bring that up, really.

Bending over the sink, Gavin hurried splashed warm water over his face, washing it carefully around the cut area near his chin. It stung, still, but he wasn’t going to be a child about it. Once he got done washing his face, he pet it dry with a small facial cloth Nines provided for him.

Rubbing the cloth over his face carefully, Gavin sighed out, “I feel great…”

“You’re disassociating,” Nines pointed out. “I’m still curious to know how it is that nothing that occurred the other day affected you.”

And right then, Gavin knew there was only one way he was going to be able to get rid of the curious android. He wasn’t going to simply stand there and talk about his feelings with Nines, or anyone else, for that matter. Nines wasn’t his damn therapist; he didn’t even have one anymore, technically speaking!!

Turning away from Nines’ penetrating, curious eyes, Gavin whistled as he rubbed cream over his face from his gym bag, and then looked around the bathroom. After a minute, while still staring down at the floor, he asked, “Do you have a band aid or something?”

Nines wasn’t stupid; he knew that this meant the topic was already closed and off limits for discussion. Still, he couldn’t help but wonder why. Though he wasn’t interested in pushing Gavin and having the man lash out at him loudly or perhaps, violently, he merely nodded as he bent down and opened up the vanity cupboards.

Handing the band aid package over to Gavin, he hissed out softly, “Here; the previous tenant seems to have left these behind.”

Taking them gladly, Gavin then pushed, “Where’s my coffee?”

With the nod of a head out the door, Nines replied, “In the kitchen.”

“Sweet.”

As Gavin walked away carelessly whistling a random tune, Nines caught himself staring at the blank space in the wall above the bathroom sink. Something suddenly stung deeply within himself and more specifically, in his mind.

Backing out of the bathroom quickly, he turned off the lights almost viciously, which was a contrast to how softly he made sure the door clicked shut.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Snort* I dunno. This chapter cracked me up.


	11. Hello, Mother Dear

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just a little piece of a thought ...  
Don't go away mad, douche, just go away :)

“Gavin, your phone’s ringing.”

“Mhmm.”

“…Aren’t you going to answer it?”

“Nuh uh.”

“…Why not?”

“I dunno.”

“Just answer it.”

“Nuh uh.”

Nines nearly lost every bit of self-control. Things weren’t copacetic anymore, not when Gavin was blatantly making a good effort at willingly ignoring him.

Slamming a hand down on the kitchen counter while Gavin toyed with his cigarette package, Nines got the shorter man’s attention for a split second before Gavin looked back down at his cigarette pack.

“I’ll chuck that out the damn window,” Nines warned in a low growl.

The grown man’s refusal to even acknowledge the fact that it could’ve been his own mother ringing his phone off the hook was purely contumacious. Nines wasn’t going to put up with it, and he didn’t.

As Gavin’s phone rang again, the android was beside himself with raw fury.

“Pick. It. Up.”

Gavin shook his head, eyes cast upon the lovely sight of the cerulean sky outside.

The phone buzzed even louder, as if throwing its own temper tantrum due to not being answered.

“Gavin,” Nines hissed, “answer it, or I _will_.”

That had been what finally broke Gavin out of his odd daydreaming, and he tossed a putrid glare at Nines.

“It could be your mother…”

A meek voice came out of Gavin’s throat, “It _is_ her…”

His clear refusal to answer the call was jarring and moving, and it spoke volumes about Gavin’s true intentions. Ipso facto, Nines concluded he was hiding from his own mother, and even going so far as to delay and postpone the meeting.

“Gavin, I know you’re frightened and nervous,” the android calmly interpolated. “I can understand how you feel—”

Eyebrows knotting together firmly on his brow, Gavin’s forehead wrinkles creased and deepened resolutely. They gave away his true inner turmoil and emotions in no time, even though he was actively trying to hold it all back from Nines. His internal struggling never ceased to amaze Nines, and the pensive android began to wonder just how far Gavin was willing to push himself and to what levels of extremities he was willing to go through and endure just to be able to keep up barricade he’d created between himself and others.

Forever, probably…or so it seemed anyway. But they both knew they didn’t have the luxury of ‘forever’ on their hands. Forever perhaps didn’t exist…

Appearing to be visibly on edge, Nines gasped out, “Gavin?”

Upon hearing his first name spoken out in that way, Gavin broke away from his petrified state. Emitting a half-growl, half-cry, he wheezed testily, “Stop freakin’ referring to me as ‘Gavin’!”

A distraught look was instantly on Nines’ face, then. “But that’s your given name, is it not?”

As a few birds and crows cawed and chirped back and forth to each other harmoniously, Gavin seemed to be completely overtaken with toxic anger. It swooped out of him in the masses, and he suddenly bellowed out, “God damn it! Just call me ‘Reed’ or ‘Detective’!! You always did it before, so why change it up now?!”

Why indeed?

Even Nines himself had to stop and think about it for a moment. Just _when_ exactly had he given himself the authority and permission to make the transition from ‘Detective Reed’ to ‘Gavin’?’

Clearly, Gavin hadn’t been patient enough to await his response. Right away, he cried out pointedly, “You think that just because I’ve moved in, played a stupid drinking game with you, and just because we’re supposedly ‘partners’ it means that things have somehow changed? Hmm?” Taking a moment to chuckle his amusement out mockingly, he then added with a cruel sneer, “Just how dumb are you, really?”

“I won’t be insulted in my own home by my guest.” Nines quickly expounded, “You can’t just disrespect me the same way you’re currently disrespecting your own mother, _Reed_.” Making sure to profoundly enunciate and emphasize the man’s last name, he gestured towards the phone just in time for it to start ringing again.

Clawing at his hair in a fit of stress, Gavin snapped, “You don’t even know how my mom is, so don’t open your mouth and comment about shit you have zero info on!!”

Eyes bouncing back and forth a few times from Gavin to his phone, the observant android whispered, “Then let me in, Reed; give me a chance to learn something here…”

Peering up at him slowly, Gavin hissed, “I’ll give you—”

The phone buzzed louder, suddenly, and Gavin found he could no longer tolerate it. Snatching it up into his right hand, he swiped across the screen to his right in order to finally answer the demanding call.

“Yeah?!” he roared loudly and paced away from the kitchen.

Nines actually found himself not listening in on the conversation, even though he knew he very well could have done it should he desire to. But he didn’t…he found he genuinely held no desire whatsoever to peer into Gavin’s personal life.

Near the living room, Gavin was rambling and talking a mile a minute, something he often couldn’t avoid when his mother spoke with him on calls as urgent as this. Now, she was demanding rather aggressively on obtaining his ‘lover’s’ living residence address.

Not even bothering to so much as even toss a glance in Nines’ direction, Gavin regurgitated the address to her in a clipped tone. A second later, she’d stated that she was on the way, and he hung up all too eagerly. He didn’t need or want to hear more.

Once he’d pocketed his phone neatly away, he felt incredibly safer…until he remembered that Nines was still lurking somewhere nearby.

As if somehow possessing the capability to read Gavin’s mind, Nines uttered flatly, “Rest assured, Detective Reed, I’ll remove myself from your way until your mother arrives.”

Pushing his way silently past Gavin, then, he hadn’t noticed the genuine look of relief flooding over Gavin’s previously torment-stricken eyes.

~ѰѰѰѰѰ~

The front door of the apartment had received two bold knocks that sent both Gavin and Nines skittering about in a flash. The door leading to Nines’ bedroom flung open and Nines was immediately on his feet, all rational thought flying away as he quickly marched through the living room, standing right in front of the door receiving the knocking as he braced himself. Gavin soon ran out next to him, and as both men were dressed in their ‘best’ outfits, they accidentally slammed into each other in a mutually competitive race to see who would get to the door first.

“I got it!!” Gavin cried out right as his body collided with Nines’. When they bumped into each other roughly, they both took a few glances at each other, no doubt assessing their style and manner of dress.

And were they ever dressed differently, and painfully so.

Gavin blushed deep pink as he pushed some of his hair back. Purposefully, he’d left some bangs and sides of his hair slightly messy to sloppily hang and drape down over his forehead. Wearing a grey Labatt Blue t-shirt that was in dire need of an ironing, the shirt looked a few sizes too big, and it hung down awkwardly over Gavin’s partly torn dark blue jeans.

As Nines stared in astonishment at his disheveled appearance, Gavin gaped in awe and mild fear at the way Nines was dressed as well. It seemed to bother the shorter male, and he flicked a finger at the black, old fashioned Poet shirt Nines was donning. It opened down and hung outwards awkwardly in the front, revealing a large portion of his creamy white chest while tight, plastic black pants tugged at his long, slim legs. The more Gavin gaped at it, the more bizarre he found it was. It just didn’t fit…

Nines paused as he noticed Gavin openly gaping at him. “What?”

Gavin slowly blinked, “The hell are you wearin,’ Nines?!”

“Clothes, Detective,” the sarcasm practically oozed and dripped off every consonant, vowel, and syllable Nines spoke out.

Gavin growled as another loud knock landed on the other side of the front door. “Whatever!” He whispered heatedly, “Ready?!”

Nines only gave him a curt nod, “Ready, Detective.”

Gavin was the one who opened the door, and as he did so quite sluggishly as though he was moving underwater, the lights outside poured in liberally as they waved around Carrie Reed.

The elderly woman’s slender figure stood out in the sudden onslaught of bright lights, and Nines stood back to study her for the first time ever. Already, he caught himself drawing comparisons between Gavin and his mother.

Carrie Reed had platinum blonde hair that had been stylishly cut and fashioned into a bouncy bob cut with bits of short layers running along the temples and sides. She wore pearly looped earrings that hung down to her pronounced jawbone. Her natural hair color was a shade lighter than Gavin’s, Nines discovered as he naturally scanned and analyzed her DNA and hair pigmentation. Her eye color was a greyer shade of blue than Gavin’s, however. She possessed a short skeletal frame and build, just coming up an inch and a half shorter than her own son in height.

On her person, she wore a red raincoat, black wellington boots, blue skinny jeans with the leggings tucked into the boots, and at her side hung a black leather purse. Over her right shoulder rested the strap of a black school bag, and it was rather bulky as it hung down strangely. Something definitely was inside it, and Nines was staring intently at it until Carrie frowned at him, and then at Gavin.

“Well?” she croaked, her voice gravelly and her breath reeking of tobacco. “Aren’t you going to invite me in?”

Gavin broke out of his silence, and he waved her in as he offered her one of the most bizarre side hugs Nines had ever seen humans give each other. “Yeah, yeah,” he said tersely, “hey mom.”

Hey mom? That was how they greeted each other?

Nines was dumbfounded, but he hung back and merely observed, trying to play the role of a respectful lover as Carrie dragged herself inside. She didn’t appear to have a lot of things with her, but it didn’t matter much to Nines; he still had oodles of room in his apartment, anyway.

Stopping right before Nines while Gavin helped ease her raincoat off, Carrie’s eyes wrinkled even more so in the corners, her light-colored skin creasing practically while she threw Nines as rather blank look. However, that look didn’t remain blank for look. Soon, it was replaced with doubt, and Carrie’s overall body posture seemed to indicate an increase in incredulity as she studied Nines.

After a moment, she huffed inelegantly, “So…you’re Gavin’s boyfriend, huh?”

Slamming the closet doors, Gavin’s shoulders clenched tightly as he spat out, “Fiancé, mom; he’s my fiancé.” 

Pursing her lips tightly together, the thin seam of them seemed to stretch out over her bony and near-skeletal face. “Uh huh,” Carrie grumbled, slowly leaning closer towards Nines. “My God,” she whispered, “he really _is_ an android, isn’t he, Gavin?”

Immediately, Nines felt offended. He knew he shouldn’t have felt that way, but he couldn’t prevent it. Gavin’s mother was speaking about him as if he wasn’t even in the room, and he felt completely objectified by it.

Trying to make a good impression, however, Nines held out his hand for her to take. “I’m Nines,” he introduced himself with the politest smile he could muster. “I’m very happy to finally get to meet you,” finishing it off with another warm smile as Gavin turned around with his hands on his hips, Nines made sure to also smile at the short detective as a means of trying to show Gavin’s mother that he was a good, attentive partner.

Sadly, Gavin’s mother didn’t seem to want to pay enough attention. Turning towards Gavin, she yanked on his shirt as she studied it and scoffed. “Is that thing even washed?” she asked in a seriously condescending tone, judgements already made about Gavin and Nines, apparently.

Gavin’s jaw fell open widely as he snorted and nodded over at Nines. “Mom,” he coughed when he noticed Nines still holding out his hand. “Nines was trying to shake your hand and say hi…”

She waved him off, “Oh be quiet,” she grumbled, “I already met your android man.”

“He doesn’t even know your na—”

Swiveling around barely enough to face Nines, the blonde woman irritably declared, “Dr. Carrie Moser, Mr. Android.” Bowing her head at him, a small sarcastic sneer was upon her face as she directed it at Nines’ hand.

This woman was a piece of work, Nines decided. Lowering his hand back down when he knew she wasn’t to take it, he merely nodded as he corrected her gently, “I’m Nines.”

“That’s nice, dear,” she gushed half-heartedly while kicking off her boots, and then rolling up her white blouse sleeves as she yanked her purse and school bag out of Gavin’s hands when he held them up for her to take.

“I’ll need a glass of water, Gavin,” she pushed out almost in a bossy manner, and when she brushed past Nines, he saw a long tattoo running from her wrist all the way up on her left forearm. It was the design of a river flowing, and one large, fat trout had leapt up from the surface of the waves into the air.

He’d wanted to comment out loud that he liked her tattoo, but that would be a lie. He hated the tattoo, and it was one of the strangest designs he’d ever seen. Instead, Nines followed Gavin, who was following his mother into the living room, and she practically threw her school bag and purse onto the black coffee table while stretching out.

Emitting a tiny groan, she stretched out her arms above her head, and when she looked up at Gavin, she scowled in disappointment. “Gavin, didn’t you hear me?” she snapped, and he barely was able to blink before she spat, “water!”

“Okay.” Obediently, the shorter male walked into the hallway, and he waved at Nines as he called out, “I’m gonna get one from the vending machine, be right back.”

Carrie squinted at his retreating back, “The vending machine?!”

When the front door of the apartment opened and closed swiftly, Carrie sighed out, “To hell with you, Gavin.”

To say that he was reeling over in shock would’ve been the understatement of the century. Nines was left feeling more than shock; he was completely baffled and overwhelmed by how Carrie Moser had spoken to her own son. He knew that humans were odd, eccentric creatures for sure, however, he assumed that they knew how to conduct and compose themselves and would be cagey when it came to matters revolving around personal information and privacy. More importantly, Nines was meeting Carrie for the _first time_. He knew that, and she knew that, as well! Why was she behaving so brashly?!

Trying to observe her, he watched as she invited herself to sit down on his clean white loveseat. Adjusting her silver watch on her left wrist, she hissed as she squinted, tried to read out the time, and then shook her head. “Isn’t this lovely?” she spoke out more to herself than to him. “You complete a damn PhD dissertation, are granted tenure, pay back all your damn student tuition loans after busting your ass off for decades, and finally, on the night of presenting and orally defending the thesis you slaved half your life and brain’s energy away on, they award you with this stupid piece of junk that you can barely even see and read because by the time they give it to you, you’re too freakin’ old to have your eyes working!!!”

As she huffed and growled like some feral jungle cat, she shifted, and held up her nose in an odd manner of hubristic pride that no doubt was no match for the size of her ego. This was a rather brazen woman, and Nines could somewhat see where Gavin got at least some of his borderline narcissistic, bullying qualities from.

Still wanting to remain polite, he sat down on a small black chair he’d pulled from the kitchen that was normally reserved for a few tiny spider plants to rest on, as well as some cacti. Happily, he joined Carrie in the living room, plopping the chair down to the left armrest of the loveseat. As soon as he sat down, she glanced up at him, and as she sneered, she reached into her school bag and yanked out from the front zipper what appeared to be an eyeglasses case.

When she opened it, Nines confirmed that she definitely required the use of the glasses, and when she slid them up on her nose bridge, their thin, black rims and handles shined at him in the light the sun provided as the effulgent rays poured their liberal effusions into the apartment. When Carrie put the glasses on, Nines’ slightly defensive feelings softened, and he smiled a genuine smile at her.

He thought she appeared charming, and lovely in the glasses!

“I like your glasses, Dr. Moser,” he addressed her by her full title, and as he’d done so, she sniffed once, and then bent down towards her bag once again. Thinking that she was still listening, Nines went out to say, “Gavin’s told me a lot about your work at the University of—” He was rudely interrupted by a loud ‘click’, followed by Carrie coughing as she inhaled her freshly lit cigarette.

Oh dear…

Sighing, Nines gently stated, “I’m afraid you can’t smoke in here, Dr. Moser.”

“Says who?” she rebuked rather loudly, causing Nines to freeze for a moment.

Almost meekly, he answered, “The building owners, Dr.”

She smirked, though it wasn’t in amusement at all, “That a fact?”

…….

“Yes?”

She rolled her grey eyes as she sighed out, “Fine as wine, then!!” Then, to Nines’ complete horror, she literally put her cigarette right out on the edge of his coffee table.

Leaping forward abruptly, he cried out in protest, “Dr. Moser!!”

She kicked a leg at the table. “Relax kid,” she pounded on it then with a fist, knuckles rocking and rapping loudly. “These things have been made to last for centuries.”

Where was he to even begin with this woman?! Her entrance had been nothing short of rude, abrasive, callous, belligerent, and her behavior was consistently getting worse!! Nines had no clue what to say, and thankfully, Carrie seemed to want to talk more, now.

Holding her cigarette in her lap, she shook her head at him, her face scrunched up as her pale, white eyebrows rested on her brow ridge in a thin line. “So, how exactly did you meet my son?”

Having already prepared for this, Nines held his head high as he responded truthfully, “We work together.”

“No,” she snapped coldly, “I didn’t ask what you guys do together; I asked _how_ you _met_ my son.”

As he looked directly into her piercing blue-grey eyes, Nines knew just what kind of a difficult obstacle he had to pass through, now. Carrie Moser wasn’t a woman easily fooled, and he had his work cut out for him indeed.

Thankfully, the door opened swiftly once again, and for once, Nines felt saved.

Perhaps it was better to let Gavin deal with his mother after all.


	12. Pride Goes Before a Fall

Gavin stood by awkwardly, shifting his weight from foot to foot, then began shaking the water bottle a few times in his hands. Apparently, his mother grew weary of it quickly, and she snapped her fingers at Gavin as her earrings dangled and made the lights reflecting off them bounce off practically every corner of the living room.

“Gavin!” she ground out heatedly, “are you planning of giving that to me to drink anytime soon?!”

Grinding his teeth together, Gavin was growing visibly annoyed, but he walked over towards Carrie and still handed her the water.

Not even bothering with a ‘thank you’, she took off the cap and stared at it for a moment before leaning forward and sniffing it curiously.

Nines closed his eyes to keep himself from exploding out in rage, and Gavin sat down beside his mother as he elbowed her gently. “Mom!” he hissed, “it’s just water! Holy shit!”

“Just water, Gavin?” she snorted a disgusting sound as she tilted her head back a little. “I’ve told you to always check your food and water before accepting it from others, haven’t I?”

He threw her a doubtful look as he supplied, “But I got that from the vending machine…”

“Stupid child,” she muttered, finally taking a deep swig of the beverage. Her Adam’s apple bobbed up and down as she drank slowly, and as she did, Nines and Gavin exchanged a brief moment of awkward glances.

Holding the bottle tightly in her veiny, bony hands, Carrie looked up at the ceiling, examining it for a moment before she looked at the walls. Scouring over every inch of them with her beady eyes, it seemed she was assessing, analyzing, deciding, and thinking about something…whatever it was, Gavin knew it would only be a matter of seconds before she blurted out how she truly felt.

Licking her lips, she smacked them together, then, and cried out, “So this is where you took those ridiculous selfies together, hmm?”

Blushing deeply while Nines’ LED light flashed yellow perhaps for the fifteenth time so far that day, Gavin pressed a hand against his mouth as he mumbled in embarrassment, “Those pics were fine, mom! Don’t be so god damn annoying!”

Clearing his throat, Nines was trying to remind Gavin to stay on Carrie’s ‘good side’-if she had one, but the annoyed detective wasn’t paying him any mind as he pressed and pushed on with his mother.

“What was wrong with them?” he asked the same question Nines truly held in his mind but had been unable to voice aloud due to the fact that he felt he still had no business in this matter anyway.

Still, he was interminably grateful that Gavin had spoken up, at least.

Holding out a hand as she played with the water bottle, Carrie huffed impatiently, “They were forced, don’t you think?”

This woman…this woman was far too wise, far too observant.

Damn her.

Face beet red again, Gavin quickly interpolated with, “Well, umm, I guess maybe a bit but that’s because Nines and I don’t like being put on the spot!” When it was silent for too long, he added, “Like, what are we? Circus performers or something?!”

“No,” Carrie mildly agreed, keeping her eyes only on her son as she spoke. “But you were quite hands-on with your previous girlfriends before, Gavin.”

“Oh my God…” Gavin facepalmed, then, and Nines tried to take over. He only did it because he assumed that if he was in such a position instead of Gavin, he would want for someone else to help out here and take the pressure off from being in the spotlight.

Clearing his throat again, he smiled gently at Carrie. “I insisted on the photos being taken that way, Dr. Moser,” he began to explain, but Gavin slapped a hand over his thighs.

Shaking his head, he interrupted acerbically with, “Call her ‘Carrie’; she doesn’t even ask _me_ to call her ‘Professor’ or whatever.”

Shoving him gently, Carrie seethed peckishily, “Oh pull yourself together, Gavin! Just because you refuse to give respect, doesn’t mean that you need to stop your ‘Nines’ here from respecting me!!” Her cheeks puffed out a little, but as soon as she’d calmed herself back down, she grabbed her cigarette and then tucked it into one of her jean pockets.

As Gavin rolled his eyes at that, Carrie once again turned to Nines and commented brashly, “You may think that I’m some kind of ‘modest’ and old fashioned woman, but I assure you,” a strange look crossed her eyes, and they glinted as she said, “I’m as open minded as I can be, and even if my son’s a little queer, that doesn’t mean I won’t love and accept him any less.”

Nines wanted to comment about how referring to one’s own spawn as ‘little queer’ wouldn’t exactly lend a helping hand to paving the way for complete acceptance, but he saw something of a warning flash in the center of Carrie’s eyes. He knew better than to trifle in this matter that clearly wasn’t his…fake fiancé or not.

She sat back, clearly amused when Nines remained silent. “I think I kind of like this one, Gavin,” she snickered shortly, “he’s not as jealous as Marsha was.”

“Mom?” Gavin’s small voice sounded, “can we please _not_ discuss my past right now?”

Holding up her hands, Carrie sarcastically droned, “Pardon me, then, but I figured since I’m welcoming another son into the family, it would be natural to want to go over these things!”

Nines hoped that somehow meant and implied that Carrie Moser was buying into the plan. Perhaps it would become easier to tolerate her rudeness, then…at least, he found himself hoping so. How else was he not to go insane, after all?

Gavin seemed to also be hanging onto that hope, and he spat, “Err, yeah! I mean, Nines is kind of private, that’s all! He’s really nice, and we’re pretty…close?” He himself even had to wince upon saying that, but he recovered from it swiftly before his mother turned to study him with cold eyes.

“Nice indeed,” she assessed, turning back to Nines as she grunted, “so, you didn’t answer my question!” Repeating it louder, she asked, “How did you meet my son?”

Gavin took it upon himself to answer, “At work, duh!”

“He already said the same thing,” Carrie pointed out factually, “but I’m curious as to how you two got together…” Sitting and inching herself closer to Gavin, she gripped him tightly towards herself, snickering as she looked at Nines and commented, “You see, maybe I’m a cynic, but I know my son better than anyone else out there…” Her eyes narrowed as she said, “You two are terribly incompatible and mismatched, and I want to know what exactly it was that brought you two together, and what is driving you two forward.”

…..

As a pregnant pause hung in the air like some foul stench, Carrie chuckled while petting Gavin soothingly, “No rush, of course, but call it my need-to-know; a mother’s genuine curiosity as far as her child’s wellbeing is concerned, of course.”

Finally, Nines broke out into a smile, “Of course,” he repeated gently.

While Gavin nervously fidgeted about, seemingly trying to get Nines’ attention for some reason, the android didn’t regard him. Not because he was trying to be rude, not because he was seeking some ill-mannered medium of revenge for being backed into a corner, and certainly not because of their previous instances of animosity.

No, Nines actually knew how to predict and read through Carrie Moser, now.

Altogether, she wasn’t a very complex woman. She wanted to be, and she thought of herself as such, no doubt. Perhaps she warded off a lot of people by carrying herself around in the way Nines had seen her do so in the short amount of time they’d spent together, but he had a sneaking suspicion that this woman had paraded around half her entire life this way, possibly because when she behaved in this way, it gave her what she was looking for. People would no doubt fear her and be intimidated by her, but Nines wasn’t. She was intelligent and highly skilled, and he could’ve sworn that she’d perhaps done her research into criminology and psychological profiling, at the very least. She knew how to play her cards and pick her words, and that was exactly what she was doing at this very moment; she was playing a word game.

But he knew the rules of this game very well.

What he had to do was go ‘beyond’ the words, beyond the true definitions and meanings in order to pick and pry apart the very roots of what she was looking for. Yes, she had asked about _how_ they met, but what she really was trying to figure out was when they met as a _couple_; when they’d decided to be together.

He knew what his answer would be.

Gavin wasn’t at ease while he rocked a few times next to his mother, and he was trying to make eye contact with Nines many times, whether his mother noticed or not. As subtle as he was attempting to be, Nines was at least ten steps ahead in solving their predicament.

Nines looked beyond that obviously panicked display, and with utmost confidence, he spoke to Carrie Moser. “You see, Dr. Moser,” he began as well-mannered as he could, “Gavin and I met two years ago when we were both surprisingly dragged into a hostage negotiation situation at the very last minute…” as he laid it all out, he focused entirely on not remembering the vivid, specific details. To remember was to be inflicted with pain, and he wanted to avoid that.

He couldn’t tolerate that…he wouldn’t.

Still keeping his calm demeanor, he went on to say, “It was a rather difficult situation involving an alcoholic parent who simply refused to listen to the voice of reason. Children were involved in this matter, and only Gavin and I seemed to be able to get through to the father.”

Carrie was listening intently with her whole body; not just her ears. She practically ate up every word Nines had to offer her, never once even blinking as her eyes widened and her pupils dilated. Even the hairs on her arms rose a little, as did the ones on the back of her neck.

Staring directly into her eyes, Nines smiled a sad smile. “We spent nearly three hours trying to calm this homicidal man down, but he was a rare monster; the kind that refused to be stopped.” Blinking away the man’s face as it appeared unceremoniously to him then, Nines spoke out in mild discomfort, “There wasn’t much time left, and we were running out of methods. In the end, he held onto two twin girls, pulled them both up to the window, and demanded that we give him a car, otherwise, he would end their lives.”

Carrie held a hand up to her mouth as she seemed overtaken by emotions, but she still listened intently as Gavin swallowed nervously and began trembling. He was in as much pain as Nines was, no doubt remembering the incident like it just happened only yesterday.

“I couldn’t just let him go,” Nines explained, “for I knew that the moment that car arrived and drove them off, he would end up taking the lives of those little girls!” Now, it was becoming somewhat unbearable to go through it all, and Nines felt himself on the edge of breaking apart.

So it appeared that he wasn’t as unbreakable as he originally thought he was…no, how could he be when it came to _this_ specific memory?! The memory itself was enough to send Carrie almost into tears, but she braved it through as she leaned closer and closer to the armrest, almost pressing herself right into it as she hooked and latched onto his words.

Staring down at his lap, finally, Nines coughed out painfully, “Well, needless to say, I invited the father outside with the promise that his car would be ready, but under the condition that he released the twin girls…” Horrific images flashed in his mind, and he rapidly pushed them away when he remembered seeing blood smeared all over the walls and windows…

Forcing himself to finish it, he hissed through clenched teeth that dared to chatter, “Of course, in no time at all, he caught onto my trickery, and he turned the gun on…me…”

Repress, repress, make it go away, make it all go away…

Refusing to break down and shake in front of her, he continued smiling. “Well, your son got in the way of the bullet that had been meant for me that day, and it was then that I saw how brave Gavin was, and my mind was made up right then and there.” When he concluded his retelling of the events, he looked back up at Carrie, and then over at Gavin.

While both mother and son were completely taken emotionally by the story, that somehow didn’t seem to stop Carrie from glaring at Nines’ shirt. As she did this, Nines felt a little odd given his state of dress, but he didn’t comment on it. Instead, he smiled again at her and merely supplied proudly, “Your son is a good man, and I am quite happy to have him in my life.”

He hoped all this would suffice…oh, how he hoped as he sat on the edge of his seat, figuratively and literally.

Wiping her clammy hands on her jeans, Carrie didn’t move for a while, and Nines wondered if she was unwell. Only when he saw her nostrils flaring did he conclude that yes, she was breathing, and she was livid…

Livid?! Enraged?! Why?!

Turning her head around to scowl at Gavin, she hissed, “Of course _you_ would do such an insane thing and risk your life!!”

Nines felt both relieved and enraged one he heard her vehement proclamation. On one hand, he felt that it was definitely good that Carrie was reacting in such a heated manner. It meant that she _was _indeed concerned for her son’s sake, but at the same time, wasn’t a parent supposed to be proud, exultant, and highly elated knowing that their child was something of a hero worthy of utmost praise and value?? Again, humans had amazed him, and he could only gape as Carrie continued to harass Gavin.

Even Gavin seemed weary of his mother’s execrable outburst, but he held himself together well as she ranted on.

“And what if you got yourself killed? Hmm??” she sneered menacingly. “What then, Gavin?!”

“For fuck’s sake,” Gavin groused at the peak of his annoyance, “I had a bulletproof vest on, mom! Jesus!”

“It doesn’t matter; you still risked your own life to save a machine?!”

That seemed to be Gavin’s breaking point. Nines literally saw the human male biting his tongue as he scanned him quickly. Yes, the long, wet body part had been wedged painfully and tightly between Gavin’s upper and lower rows of teeth, and his entire body went rigid as he focused on Carrie.

Again, Nines felt as if he didn’t matter; as if he wasn’t even in the room there with them.

“To think that you would be so screwed up in the head, Gavin, that you would betray everything you supposedly hated and for what?!” she shrieked at him pathetically. “For what?! Hmm? Isn’t this hypocritical, even for you?”

Backing away from her a little when she stretched out her neck and took a rather aggressive stance, Gavin hissed, “What’re you talkin’ about?”

Waving at Nines while still glaring at her own son, Carrie spat, “He is an _android_! He is the very _thing_ that god damn woman’s rotten son created, and yet here you are running around saving them?!?” Laughing a pained, dry laugh, she took off her glasses, blinked a few times, and peered at Gavin as though she was just seeing him for the first time in her entire life. “You traitor…” she shook her head at him, “…you’re a god damn unbelievable traitor to choose something that whore of a woman’s bastard child created!!”

Gasping as he held a hand to his chest, Gavin wheezed, “No I’m not!! I’m not!!”

That was it. Nines knew that he had to intervene, now. He knew that Carrie was more than likely going to start yelling and screaming at him for it, and Gavin would likely throw a fit, himself, but he refused to just sit there like a useless dummy when Gavin’s mother was berating him, belittling him, degrading him, and verbally abusing him.

No. This wouldn’t continue.

Standing up quicker than he thought he would’ve, Nines held out a hand towards Gavin. “I think Gavin needs some air, Dr. Moser,” he suggested more like a declaration, and she wisely and sharply caught onto that.

“You can’t just decide what _my _son needs or doesn’t need!” She chuckled sarcastically, her eyes sweeping up along Nines’ form, “You two aren’t married…_yet_.”

Ignoring the way her eyes glinted dangerously, Nines still kept a hand out before Gavin, silently beckoning him. “I think we should let Gavin decide for himself, don’t you agree?”

While Nines and Carrie silently stared on at Gavin, the detective knew who was deliberately trying to pressure him, and who wasn’t. This wasn’t even a matter of strictly obeying just because he was biologically tied to someone; he’d already made his mind up.

Rising to his feet, he stood around the coffee table, and he joined Nines at his side. As he stood next to the android, Carrie Moser merely laughed as she tilted her head back, crossed one leg over the other, and folded her arms over her chest. “So you two are just going to what? Leave me here?” she tsked, “what lovely hosts.”

Gavin clearly still wanted to remain on the side of ‘hospitable’ and ‘kind’. While he wasn’t overly happy and joyous, he wasn’t channeling all his rage and anger towards his mother, either. He simply stared down at her coldly and neutrally as he responded, “It’s better if we go out; we need food for tonight, anyway.”

Clasping her hands together, Carrie nodded as her jaw dropped. “Oooh yes!” she exclaimed in awe, “I forgot that money’s tough to come by these days, and perhaps shacking up with a creature that doesn’t need to eat and drink _is_ less of a financial burden, isn’t it Gavin?” She was smirking and grinning like the Devil, and Gavin couldn’t put up with it any longer.

Backing away, he threw out softly, “We’ll be back soon, but if you want to take a walk, yourself, maybe you should—”

“Relax,” Carrie retorted, digging into her school bag as she pulled out a silver Macintosh laptop. “I have to work as I’m here, and that’s why I can’t stay more than a day at the most.” Setting up her laptop on the coffee table, she then waved her hands at them as she grunted, “Shoo shoo, then!”

“Glad to,” Gavin spat, and in an instant, he’d turned around and marched off into the hallway so he could put on his shoes.

While he hurriedly put them on, Nines craned his head down, and he tried coming up with something that was still on the edge of decent to Carrie. But he struggled with it; this woman wasn’t a pleasant individual to be around and entertain, and once he’d made up his mind about someone, he found it quite the challenge to change his opinions and views.

Carrie Moser for now was set in an irreversible path…a path she’d no doubt carved, chiseled, and paved for herself.

Still, Nines wished she had some redeeming qualities, but he decided to visit that topic another time, another day.

All he could do was bow his head in obeisance as he followed Gavin out the door.

However, before he could try to leave, he heard Carrie call out to him to get him to stop.

“Oh Nines?” she almost sang in a childish way, and he really had to force himself to stop and look at her.

When their eyes met, a sadistic smile grew upon her face, and she suddenly seemed so lively and a bit younger.

Never ceasing to smile, she heartily laughed out, “Do you happen to know the Wi-Fi password by any chance?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think I revealed WAY too much this chapter.


	13. Visible Comparison

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> October madness dictates that I need to hurry my arse up and post as many chapters as I can before Halloween because I had a cute Halloween chapter planned but I'm behind.  
Expect a slew of chapters, though I apologize if it gets annoying. All the more to read, I guess.

Gavin was simply relieved to finally be out of the apartment and away from his mother’s scorn and garrulous talk. Her foolish words still haunted him, but he was considerably more relaxed once he was physically out of the apartment, so Nines took notice of. Gavin was practically bolting down the steps to the parking lot of the fancy apartment complex, descending two steps at a time. Upon being outside, he inhaled many breaths of fresh air while the wind whistled past his ears.

Nines stood by and simply observed him, swallowing down his harsh words and contempt for Carrie Moser that had steadily built up since he’d met her.

Not wanting to be watched all day long, Gavin propped his messy bangs back as he asked, “What should we do now?” He knew that while he was a grown man capable of being in charge of handling his own affairs and making his own well-informed decisions, he’d still asked Nines, and it was far too late to retract that statement now that it’d wavered freely in the air between them.

Somewhat despondent, Nines swiftly replied, “Lunch, Detective?”

Right.

Nodding, Gavin didn’t wish to cease showing Nines deference. “I guess,” he sighed softly, shifting his feet about awkwardly. The detective was aware of the android’s calm, blue eyes dancing in the low afternoon light, but it didn’t aid in Gavin’s tongue loosening anytime soon. He breathed with mild caution in the back of his throat, “Is there some place within walking distance?” When Nines clearly threw him a look that seemed to warrant another explanation, Gavin relented, “I swear, I’m just not in the mood to drive right now.”

A massive, burning hand caught him by the elbow, gentle and guiding. “I understand, Detective,” Nines stated calmly as he held a penitent gaze in his eyes. “I know a rather good place just a block away, but it’s a Cantonese take-out shop.”

There was no requirement for the place they obtained their food from to be ornate and superb. As long as they got something, it was good enough for Gavin, especially considering how the shorter man had lived majority of his young adult life eating and consuming more carbs than he should have.

“That’s fine,” Gavin was quick to dart out as he stifled the instinct to jump or pull away when he felt how strong Nines’ hand was on his shoulder. While he allowed Nines to guide him away from the parking lot, he added as he blinked quickly, averting his eyes, “Even if it was a European circus serving popcorn on elephant asses, I’d go for it any damn day.”

Upon hearing the acrid statement, Nines chose to ignore the feisty comment as he led the way onward. Gavin didn’t say much else as he played with his dark wallet. For nearly a full minute, they walked side by side in silence, enjoying the crispy weather when Gavin suddenly frowned deeply.

Falling back a little, he hissed thinly, “Oh, good job back there blurting out all that unnecessary bullshit to my mom.” Giving the tall android a thumbs-up that was purely sarcastic, he finished bitingly, “Way to go, Nines.”

Nines wasn’t entirely as fluent in the language of sarcasm as Gavin happened to be, but he still knew when the petulant man was dishing out his fair share of it. After all, Nines had had already two years of observing how Gavin behaved almost six days a week for eight hours per day. He was rather accustomed to all the behavior patterns by now.

“I don’t appreciate the condescending jab at my expense, Reed,” Nines snarled as he walked slowly, hoping that the words would seep into Gavin’s head for once.

As their shoes crunched down on brown and orange dried-up leaves that had long since fallen and withered away, the clouds above were gently blown back and forth in the vast, cerulean sky. A few times, the sun was covered, only to reemerge when the wind blew once again.

Gavin snorted, “Well, I didn’t appreciate you tellin’ her all that anyway, you know!!”

Still advancing slowly, Nines retorted, “Well, then for the next time, Reed, why don’t you be faster to provide a more sagacious response, then?”

“Oh, I will!” Gavin roared practically, and as he purposefully slammed his shoulder into Nines’ in an attempt at stopping the android’s words from stinging, he also added, “not like there will be a next time, anyway!!”

Nines hoped not as well.

Trying to knock into Nines again, Gavin slammed his other shoulder back into the android’s powerful sternum, but it was a foolish attempt. Nines had already resumed his rapid walking pace, his wide gait troublesome for Gavin to keep up with for long. Though he tried as he broke out into a tiny jog, Gavin found himself falling behind rather quickly.

Damn Nines and his long, long legs!!!

With a sigh and a strong burst of speed put forth, he pushed off both feet and just barely managed to tap on Nines’ broad back when he was close enough. It caught the stern android’s attention, and as he stopped moving, he turned to offer Gavin a most annoyed scowl. Gavin flinched before he gathered his guts and nerves.

Oh, how he’d wanted to say just exactly what was currently spinning around in his mind like a tornado to Nines right then and there, but his barriers and defense mechanisms abruptly prevented it from happening.

Switching gears, he glared down at the black Poet shirt instead, and hissed sharply, “Why’re you wearin’ that thing again?!”

Shrugging his hand off his shoulder once he’d taken in the crude words, Nines grunted dully, “I don’t have to answer to you, Reed.” As he resumed walking, he came upon a crosswalk and paused, waiting for the damn ‘walk’ symbol and signals to flash. It seemed to take forever as the traffic drove on by, the loud sounds of tires and engines drowning out his thoughts.

While Gavin stood a few inches away, he nodded over at a few cars and cyclists, “Nines, people are starin’ at you…”

“Well spotted, Reed,” Nines’ lips and mouth hardly moved as he bit out, “I don’t care, though.”

Stepping away from him gradually so there was enough room between their bodies, Gavin blushed, “Well, I do!! I’m gonna be seen with you, and people are gonna think that I’m hanging out with a damn weirdo!”

“Then you’re more than welcome to act as if I don’t exist, Reed,” came Nines’ stern suggestion, and a second later, the ‘walk’ symbol appeared beneath the traffic lights.

Surreptitiously fidgeting with his clothing, Gavin strode over along as well, though he still kept his distance from Nines as if the android had some sort of strange, highly contagious disease. Well, if Gavin wanted to think of him in such a lowly manner, he was more than welcome to it, Nines supposed.

Even though he was very well aware of the curious and judgmental glares he was receiving, Nines walked on straight ahead with his head held high. After all, he wasn’t some depraved lunatic running around the streets of Detroit! He was just choosing to dress in an entirely new style, and if people wished to gape openly at him for it, so be it.

His audio receptors caught the sounds of Gavin’s footsteps reluctantly following him all the way up until Nines stood and gestured to his left to point at a partly open door. Gavin then completely stopped as well.

Swallowing anxiously while he hoped no one was really watching them, Gavin gazed at the establishment they were stopped in front of. It was a shop that rested and stood between a pawn shop and an old pet store. Nodding at the sign above notifying the public that the store was indeed open, Gavin muttered resentfully, “This is it, huh?”

Nines only sneered. “You can wait out here if you’re still embarrassed to be seen around me.” Not wanting to admit it, but the fact that he’d vocalized what he was certain Gavin was going to be doing seemed to sting within himself even more. How decadent!

Rolling his eyes as means of a nonverbal response, Gavin snapped moodily as he opened the door, “You won’t know what to order, so I’m coming with you.”

“Fine.”

As they both walked inside, they both found the place to be completely empty, thankfully. Asian letters, drawings, art, and décor had been placed all around the shop, and gentle Asian music played on the radio. Steam and sweet-smelling odors flocked around Gavin and Nines, and as the short detective’s mouth watered in need, he stood himself before the front counter. There wasn’t a single soul in sight, but that didn’t deter Gavin. Peeking down, he saw a tiny, golden bell resting between two golden fire-breathing dragons, and he tapped the bell gingerly with his middle finger once.

One meek chime rang out, but it apparently wasn’t nearly enough to garner attention.

Damn.

Tapping the bell one more time, Gavin cleared his throat, hoping someone would show up, now.

Nines sighed, “Why don’t you call for someone, Reed?”

Resisting the urge to shove Nines away, Gavin stammered out weakly, “H-hello?!”

Nines glared at the back of Gavin’s head. If looks could kill.

“Hello?” Gavin called out one final time while also praying this would be the last of it. Very soon, he gave up as he shrugged, “Guess there’s no one home, come on.”

Before he could turn away completely, Nines’ arm shot out suddenly, and he slammed the palm of his right hand directly down over the bell. A most loud, abrasive chime echoed and sounded then, and Gavin felt his cheeks and neck beginning to heat up.

“That wasn’t necessary, you total dork!” he reproached, though the intractable android at his side didn’t seem to pay his insult any mind.

Ignoring him, Nines again reached for the small bell. “Someone’s got to muster up the courage, Detective,” came the sibilant jab at his shyness.

This time, he shoved Nines as hard as he could while hissing dangerously, “Don’t do that again!”

“Ahh!! Hello there, gentlemen!!” A soft-but excited voice rang out to them so suddenly that Gavin leapt back. Nines however remained calm, so much that Gavin eyed the languid, tall android with a hint of envy and resentment in his eyes burning fiercely.

As Gavin broke away from Nines, the stoic android accepted the move with equanimity. Both Gavin and Nines were staring on as they saw an Asian man of perhaps Japanese ethnicity standing on the other side of the counter. He wasn’t any taller than Gavin, but he seemed to be far more amicable than the moody, sour detective. He had a white hairnet on, a yellow and orange stained apron over his torso, as well as clean white gloves on his hands. He had a black, short goatee, and dark brown eyes that were rather gentle and welcoming.

Realizing he’d been standing there doing nothing but gaping and gawking oddly, Gavin’s thoughts ran messily as his breaths came out undulating, slightly. Trying to coax some kind of a different and far less mortifying reaction out of himself in the hopes that he would snap out of his ogling, Gavin rubbed and wiped his hands over his jeans as he awkwardly said, “Umm, yeah, do y-you happen to have a s-special deal of the day or anything?” He knew this sounded rather thrifty and cheap, but he wasn’t exactly wallowing in money and luxurious riches for that matter, either.

The short Asian man nodded, and then smiled, revealing a mouth full of braces strewn over pearly white teeth. “Today is only Chicken Chow Mein!!” he guffawed in zeal, and Gavin and Nines merely stared at each other blankly.

Blinking once, Gavin stated, “I’ll go with that…please…”

The Oriental man got to work immediately, rushing to the back of the kitchen behind the counter to begin cooking. In an instant, however, he was abruptly stopped. A tiny, pale hand shot out, and like a deadly viper, one of its bony fingers pinched the chef’s right ear until it turned pink.

“Ayi yi yi yi!!! Grandma!!” squealing, he whined out his protests like a scorned child, and he was dragged back out towards the counter.

At his side was an elderly Asian woman with long grey and black hair tied back in a tight bun. Bits of her hair fell out in some small tendrils when she bowed her head at Nines and Gavin in obeisance. As she held onto the younger man, he resisted her and struggled a few more times, but ceased struggling when she threw him a serious glare.

“Oh, I apologize!” he quickly spoke out to Gavin and Nines. “I forgot to ask how many people I’ll be cooking for!!” Hoping this was good enough, he winced as he stared at the woman currently holding onto his ear in a death-like grip.

Uncomfortably, Gavin replied, “Err, two…”

As soon as this response had been delivered, the older woman yanked on the young man’s ear one last before she reluctantly let him go. While lowering her voice conspiratorially, she hissed out a stream of sibilant terse words in Japanese, Gavin supposed. Aiming them all at the young chef, she shook her head dismissively at him as he raced back into the kitchen. At once, as the door swung widely open, both Gavin and Nines saw the image of a young Asian girl smiling at them. She was wearing a pink, fuzzy sweater, and her clean, shiny black hair had been braided in one long braid. Giggling in excitement, she tore away from the doorway, but before she disappeared completely, Gavin and Nines caught the unmistakable round LED light spinning brightly blue on her right temple.

~ѰѰѰѰѰ~

“Do you suppose your mother is suffering right now in pure boredom?” Nines asked while Gavin played with a small potted plant near one of the store windows. The dour detective was currently seated on a red stool as he stared on dully ahead, hardly having heard Nines until the annoyed android repeated his concern importunately.

Gavin only shrugged, but he should have known it wouldn’t assuage the android’s curiosity in the slightest.

“You should answer,” Nines chided him, “she’s your mother; not some stranger we picked up off the street.”

This wasn’t a matter he felt he could expiate for in regard to his apparent offense...not so easily, it seemed. Letting the plant’s leaves go, Gavin sighed out at the clean windows, “Knowing my mom, she likely is working on her next book for the University.”

Nines raked his eyes heavenward. “Publish or perish, yes,” he nodded as he understood. “Is she currently on sabbatical?”

“Kinda,” came the coaxed reply out of Gavin in a gentle way, but it was so the chef or anyone else wouldn’t hear their conversation. “She teaches part-time, but she usually does more research,” he admitted openly as Nines listened intently and quite carefully.

Assuming that the not-so-maternal Dr. Moser was somehow ‘entertaining’ herself this way, Nines awaited the food as steam rose steadily out of the kitchen in tiny waves and clouds.

“Smells good,” Gavin commented as he inhaled deeply and closed his eyes.

Nines turned to watch as the expert chef pan-fried the chow mein noodles by tossing and turning them about in the dark pan while he added and mixed in some soy sauce. Then, he topped many tender slices of chicken breast over it, followed by fresh, crisp vegetables. It all sizzled and steamed nicely while he worked and slightly swayed his hips, clearly enjoying himself tremendously.

The observant android knew they’d been waiting almost half an hour so far. The chef appeared to nearly be done, and the elderly woman he’d referred to as ‘grandma’ kept smiling politely the entire time. The android child was nowhere in sight, however, and Gavin was truly curious about her.

As he scented pure sesame oil about wafting in the stuffy air, Gavin tried acting casual as he leaned next to Nines and whispered, “Do you think that girl’s his daughter, by the way?”

Knowing he was obviously referring to the chef, Nines softly supplied, “Your guess is as good as mine, Reed.”

“Hmm,” Gavin only hummed in the way of contributing to the conversation, and he stopped thinking about it when the chef shut off the stove and poured in the remaining tablespoon of salt into the skillet of food.

Fingers and hands wiggling as if he was performing a magic trick, he added and decorated the two cartons holding the noodles now with a lovely mixture of celery, carrots, bean sprouts, chopped slices of onions, shredded green onions, and gave the food one last stir and shake before he added the steaming chicken into the cartons last on top of the noodles.

Nines made his way towards the counter just as the chef reappeared from the kitchen, and this time, the child android’s curious dark eyes could be seen as she beamed at Nines from behind ‘grandma’.

Placing the food cartons into two separate white plastic bags neatly, the chef headed to a small fridge in the left-hand corner away from the counter, and as he opened it, he asked loudly, “What drink you want, guys?”

They had a choice, it seemed, as part of the daily special.

Gavin shrugged indecisively as he scratched the back of his head. Finally, he coughed out uncomfortably, “Water, I guess.”

Two bottles of cold water were then slid up over the top of the counter beside the bags of food.

“Thank you,” Nines gratefully spoke. “I’m sure it’ll be delectable.” It was an odd statement to make considering how he wouldn’t be able to eat it himself, but the chef didn’t seem to pick up on that inconsistency.

As though Nines’ polite statement hardly mattered at all, the chef held out his hand expectantly as he grunted, “You pay money, now?”

A brutally harsh slap was instantly delivered across the back of the chef’s skull, then.

“Yaaaaaaaiiiieeeee!!” he screamed painfully while flinching and taking cover, “grandmaaaa!!”

Snarky Asian words flew out of her mouth by way of stern warnings for a full minute before she turned and smiled at both Nines and Gavin, appearing to be such a sweet old lady, suddenly.

With a small blush in his cheeks, the chef apologized, “Sorry sirs,” he cleared his throat while the android girl skipped away into the back. Bashfully, he asked, “How would you like to pay?”

Gently opening his wallet, Gavin fished out two twenties and pushed them into Nines’ hand, clearly communicating that he didn’t want deal with this any longer.

All too eagerly, Nines paid for the meal up front with the cash, and he bowed his head respectfully at both shop owners.

“Good day,” he said briskly to them gently, and just as Gavin had been about to head back out into the street, the Asian chef abruptly coughed out, trying to get their attention at the very last minute.

It worked.

A light brown eyebrow quirked up as Nines hummed deeply, “Yes?”

Clearly having been forced into doing this, the chef’s face held all the discomfort on Earth as he grinned painfully. It was only a pantomime of mere happiness, however.

“Fortune cookie?” Holding up the three wrapped cookies in his hands, he added, “One for you, too!!”

Nines found he couldn’t refuse.

~ѰѰѰѰѰ~

To say that dinner had been ‘awkward’ was the understatement of the century, truly.

Carrie complained that the tablecloth of the tiny vampire bats flying about was nothing but childish and silly, so she opted instead for eating her meal at the coffee table. It seemed to suit Gavin just fine, and the thirty-eight-year-old ate his own meal at the kitchen table-as far away from his mother as possible.

Not entirely comfortable with leaving the woman alone, Nines sat on the same chair resting next to the sofa and tried initiating a conversation with Carrie. Of course, it was damn near impossible to do that when Carrie watched videos on her laptop and read through articles instead of even regarding Nines.

Pulling teeth would be easier, it seemed.

The android still displayed how patient he could be throughout such a hardship, and he only spoke when Carrie’s last video ended.

Smiling widely at her, he inquired gently, “Is the food any good?”

“Very nice,” was the eventual verdict as the older woman pushed her noodles around with a plastic fork.

Still wanting to engage her further to be a good host, Nines asked, “It’s to your liking? That’s good to hear—”

Cutting him off quickly, Carrie hissed, “I’m not convinced just by one visit, you know.”

It was time to cut the bullshit, it seemed.

“What’ll it take for you to approve, Dr.?” He knew Gavin was listening in quite intently despite being in the other room. It didn’t matter; he spoke loudly and clearly enough so Gavin could hear everything.

Carried chuckled in amusement. “A very forward and upfront person, huh?” Continuously snickering in a most sinister way while the corners of her eyes wrinkled, she concluded, “that’s rather refreshing of you, Nines.”

Not caring to hear more of her nasty, pointed comments, Nines hissed, “I want to live with Gavin and make him happy each day.”

“Not good enough, Nines,” Carrie’s barbed retort slammed into the air, and as Gavin stood and gazed at them from the space between the living room and the kitchen, Carrie stared at her fork while winding some more thick noodles onto the prongs. Holding it up before her own eyes, she smiled a rather demented version of a smile as she said, “I’ll return in the spring, because I’m actually seriously willing to give you a chance.”

Practically climbing wildly over his own feet, Gavin stumbled up to his own mother as he cried out vehemently, “Spring?! Why so long?!”

Sensing that the detective was timorous enough as it was, Nines only hoped with all his might that Carrie would be a bit merciful in granting him a wise response to his question that would set things on a clearer path…if there was one.

However, Carrie’s imperious manner had already done well to intimidate her son, and it seemed she was dead set on continuously vilifying Gavin to her heart’s content.

Motioning at him while eyeing Nines rather sternly as if he were her bratty son instead, she spat, “I believe time here will only determine if this is all a crock of shit you two are trying to feed me, or if it’s something genuine.”

A rather wistful smile was upon Nines’ face, then. “I understand, Dr. Moser.”

“I think this is garbage!!” Gavin profusely screamed as he bunched up his fists tightly. “This is—”

“This is me giving you a chance,” Carrie interjected quickly and harshly, and it did well to silence her vitriolic son immediately as his mouth snapped shut and pressed into a thin line.

Once it remained silent, Carrie waved at Nines, “Look, I don’t know why, but something’s _very_ fishy here, and I’m not going to allow Gavin to sign off the papers, meet with his dad’s attorney, and just hand over everything that easily.” Crossing her legs, she whispered, “No, I’m sorry, but I’ll return in the spring as I said before, and I’m done discussing and bargaining with you on this subject, Gavin.”

The argument was finished even before it started, and while Gavin could only stand back and fume in silence as he boiled beet red in the face and neck, Carrie grabbed her small fortune cookie. Cracking and breaking it in amusement, she cried out in zeal as her eyes went wide.

“Let’s see your fortune, then!!” Waving her paper around in the air once the two halves of her cookie had fallen apart, she read out to them, “Mine says: ‘Love and live each day anew, appreciate the youthfulness in the soul, as sometimes your path relies on the bridges of smiles others create for you!”

Turning to Gavin, then, she leaned to the side, staring past him into the kitchen. “Well, Gavin?!” she snorted, “what does your fortune cookie tell you?”

This time, it wasn’t just Gavin who was raging internally; Nines was on the brink of exploding as well, but he had to contain and conceal it as best as he could when Carrie sighed and blinked at him in faux innocence.

Grinning, she sighed, “I _do_ wonder what an android could possibly want for good fortune…” Eyes glinting with malice, she spat, “Oh, do tell, Nines…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Legit this is my favorite chapter.


	14. While the Music Lasts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pressure's on.

Both Carrie Moser and Gavin had left Nines’ apartment that same night after supper. Carrie stated she had to gather more things for her research and prepare for her lectures, and Gavin-while on the edge of rage-merely told Nines that he had to go back to living as he normally did, and he had to take care of his cats.

Of course, the pensive android didn’t stop Gavin from doing whatever he pleased. He wasn’t one to force anyone into anything, but he held a lot of questions for Gavin now that he’d met Carrie Moser. The woman was truly an enigmatic beast of a creation, and while Nines abhorred the idea of wanting to get to know more about her, he found it was a topic that was rather difficult to avoid. If he wanted to help Gavin, he found he had to know about Carrie Moser quite well.

Unfortunately, Gavin wasn’t in a ‘talking mood’.

When he’d bolted from Nines’ apartment that night, the android had foolishly thought that like many times in the past when he’d been upset, Gavin Reed would supposedly go off somewhere in the comforts of his own security and privacy, wait it all out, stew a bit, and then return when he was in ‘better spirits’.

Of course, he’d been wrong for the first time in a while.

Unpredictable as ever, Gavin didn’t ‘come back’ to him. He’d left a lot of his personal stuff in Nines’ apartment, and he didn’t seem to care enough or show enough concern to even ask for them back. It surprised and stymied Nines for a while, and when they were to return back to work, Nines figured he would approach the angry detective and inquire about his personal items.

It was absolutely horrendous.

Yes, Nines had respected Gavin enough to give him his own personal time and space, but again, human unpredictability had weighed in greater than Nines’ unique strengths and state of the art powers in this case. Nothing he said or did was effective and ‘decent’, it seemed.

When he’d approached Gavin’s desk on Wednesday, Gavin immediately began ‘working’. Answering phone calls, booking meetings, checking his files and documents, the detective suddenly had no time at all to even wave at him.

Well, work came first, and Nines respected that enough, so he vowed to try the following day…only that hadn’t worked, either.

Gavin was still ‘busy’, it seemed, but he was also growing a tad more aggressive each day that Nines tried isolating him to talk and just check up on him. At first, Gavin merely avoided him or would clearly head in the opposite direction if he saw Nines approaching. But after another day of this pattern of behavior not yielding the results he’d wanted, Gavin took to really being rude and distasteful towards Nines.

After Friday, Nines ruefully decided to back off a little, but he chose instead to reach out to Gavin through text. Perhaps that would aid in coaxing some response out of the moody, grumpy detective, Nines hoped.

On Saturday afternoon, Nines merely composed a simple greeting consisting of:

**RK900, 1:19 p.m.**

**Good afternoon, Reed. How are you?**

Of course, there’d been crickets on the other end, and after five hours of waiting around for a reply, Nines decided to try again.

**RK900, 6:22 p.m.**

**I don’t mean to pester you, Reed, but I’m a bit worried because you haven’t said a word to me all week, and a lot of your personal items are still taking up space in my home. Would you like to come by and retrieve them? Please do let me know, but there’s no rush, and I won’t be throwing them out at all. I’ll keep them all here for you until you choose to drop in at your own time and leisure. **

**Take care.**

Thinking that this sincere, polite message would definitely warrant some kind of a reply, Nines actually found himself sitting down on a chair while staring at his phone. Whenever it would try to go to sleep to conserve energy, he would tap it and make sure it remained brightly lit.

Gavin would text any minute, now.

…..

But he didn’t.

Checking the time, Nines supposed that Gavin could’ve been eating, so he gave the man another hour before he tried another text.

**RK900, 7:31 p.m.**

**Are any of my messages being sent? Please do let me know.**

Hoping he wasn’t being bothersome, Nines checked his phone constantly, but it seemed like this message was also being ignored…until his phone alerted him to an incoming new text, and Nines sat up straightly as he glued his eyes fixedly onto the screen.

He found however that what was there wasn’t exactly what he’d been dying to read after many hours of waiting nervously in silence while also trying to be respectful.

**Detective Reed, 7:34 p.m.**

**stop fuckin textin me.**

Well…that wasn’t lovely to read, and it set Nines off already in a foul mood.

Texting back quickly with a glare in his eyes and a red LED light, he mentally went over his previous text messages, and he couldn’t see how any of them were bad, rude, disrespectful, or even annoying. He was just concerned and wanted to help!!!

Making sure his next response indicated and reflected that, he went over the message twice before hitting ‘send’.

**RK900, 7:39 p.m.**

**I hope I’m not being rude, Detective, but I just want to know of your plans as far as your belongings are concerned, because a week has gone by and you haven’t communicated with me what you wish to do with them. **

**Just let me know and I’ll stop bothering you. **

That was it!! Maybe it would all be clear, now.

…..

Except, it wasn’t, and Gavin’s next text showed that as majority of the spelling errors and caps lock words seemed to indicate a lot of heated and angry emotions had been poured forth into composing the message rather than calm, rational thought.

**Detective Reed, 7:41 p.m.**

**get lost alrdy u peece of plastic shit,i dont want tooo talk, so gett tht thru ur thicc brain!**

With a sigh, Nines texted back hurriedly.

**RK900, 7:42 p.m. **

**So you’d prefer it if I threw out your items, then? **

He knew he had no right to do that, and threatening Gavin was just plain wrong, but he couldn’t help but feel his own personal feelings and emotions already stirring and becoming involved in this when nothing seemed to want to sink into Gavin’s thick head.

Continuing when there hadn’t been another response, Nines ranted on, completely lost to his rising and increasing anger and contempt.

**RK900, 7:46 p.m.**

**I don’t want to threaten you, but try putting yourself in my shoes for once! Upon such short notice, I agreed to ‘marry you’, and I let you rearrange practically everything in my house to better suit your needs and purposes. I allowed your mother to arrive on such short notice as well, and she was nothing but rude, short-tempered, childish, and selfish, yet I put up with it, Reed! I don’t have an issue with any of that, as I somehow already knew and accepted that it would come along with the ‘task’ set upon me, but what I really don’t wish to accept is how rude and cold you’re being when I’m still trying to make things as painless for the both of us as possible. Either way, whatever you decide to do, I’d like to know about it. I still want to help you in any way I can, but I’m not a mind reader. You have to talk to me and tell me what you want me to do, otherwise, I’m at a loss for words. **

**Just talk to me, Reed. Tell me what’s on your mind, and I will try to accommodate it and help you. **

While that was slightly on the edge of ‘begging’, it had been composed and sent directly from the ‘heart’. In the past, Nines had always thought that ‘speaking from the heart’ was a silly, archaic terminology that had to be entirely and completely removed from the list of English words and phrases to use, but when he was placed in such a tight corner such as this, he felt it was appropriate to say that and appeal to Gavin’s ‘good nature’. He hoped the man would finally understand him now and see ‘eye-to-eye’. Gavin definitely would if it was all kept ‘real’ and genuine, and Nines considered himself as ‘real’ and as ‘genuine’ as the definition of the terms could be.

He held a lot of high hopes for a good response and a positive turnabout now, and as he sat back smiling and eagerly waiting to move on to the next productive steps with Gavin, he took a moment to congratulate himself on finally empathizing like a master when it came to handling a human being. He’d seen Connor doing that a lot before, and for the first year of his time spent at the DPD, Nines didn’t entirely understand what it meant to show empathy and compassion. As he slipped further and further into deviancy and as his software instability increased exponentially as time went on, he could finally grasp at least a little of what Connor had described and boasted about experiencing to him many times.

Now, he was finally ‘one’ with people; ‘one’ with his emotions.

The phone buzzed, then; Gavin was still responding!!

Gazing down at the words, as he read through each of them, Nines’ smile crashed and burned.

**Detective Reed, 7:58 p.m.**

**holy shit, if ur dun with ur stupid rant, how about i tell you wat i really want! wat i want first of all is to clear out the smel of cat barf and piss becuz i spent like 3 hours cleanin it out now that my cats r usd 2 peeing everywher an i hav 2 clean it always when i get home thanks to forgetting it al becuz of u!**

Apparently, the detective really was livid, for he quickly sent another broken, chopped text, and they kept on coming one right after another, each of them stabbing Nines in the thirium pump more and more, deeper and deeper.

**Detective Reed, 8:00 p.m.**

**afer tht, i want fr u too get fuked in the worst of wayd, and i want to shove my foot in ur ass until u can tast my laces!**

**Detective Reed, 8:01 p.m.**

**srsly i hate u, Nines! fuck u! fuck u!!! **

And to top it all off in a classy, elegant way, Gavin sent a middle finger emoji.

Something in Nines snapped as he read over the last two text messages. He had no idea what he was feeling, and he certainly had no idea what he was even doing. All he knew was that he was faced with a sudden potent wave of anger and vitriol unlike any he’d ever experienced, and he needed to lash out to make his own rage as miniscule as possible.

Holding his phone strongly in both hands, he growled deeply, “So that’s your answer, then?! That’s how you feel about it?”

Rage overpowered him, and only one objective remained before his burning eyes.

Humiliate Gavin Reed; make him feel just as small and just as embarrassed.

He’d typed the next words without even thinking about it, and that had taken on an entirely new, darker aura around the conversation.

**RK900, 8:05 p.m.**

**Fuck me? Very well, Reed. Are you offering?**

There was a long pause before Gavin-thinking that Nines was bluffing-replied aggressively.

**Detective Reed, 8:12 p.m.**

**bullshit, Nines, ur a pussy chickenshit. U wouldnt do that shit.**

As his eyebrows rose, Nines was already working on the next response.

**RK900, 8:13 p.m.**

**I’m dead serious, Reed. Set a time and place aside, and I’ll show you just what I can do to you.**

On one hand, Nines meant this as a double-entendre for a threat of violence, perhaps, but Gavin didn’t seem to be reading it that way at all.

**Detective Reed, 8:15 p.m.**

**u fuckin sicko, if u even touch me, ill report u to fowler. **

**RK900, 8:16 p.m.**

**Why so hasty to decline? Are you scared you actually might enjoy it?**

**Detective Reed, 8:18 p.m.**

**r u srs, Nines?>!?**

He grinned dangerously as he nodded, even though Gavin couldn’t see it.

**RK900, 8:20 p.m.**

**I said I’m damn serious, Reed. You know my address, and there’s a bed here. Your call. **

**Detective Reed, 8:22 p.m.**

**Nah, ur lying.**

**RK900, 8:22 p.m.**

**I assure you, I’m not. I can even show you how much this is affecting me by sending you a photo if you want…**

**Detective Reed, 8:23 p.m.**

**U god damn pervert…**

That was the exact moment when Nines had to snap himself awake and turn away from his phone.

What the fuck was he doing?! What the fuck was he saying to Gavin?!

Reading through the conversation history, Nines was mortified to see that the amatory direction the chat had gone in was mostly _his_ own doing and his own responsibility!! Gavin was just venting and ranting, and Nines had allowed him to goad him into a stupid childish word squabble of who was the bigger man, and who could dish out the harsher threats?!? Why had he done this?! How could he sit there and claim to be above humans and far more superior to them when he was just as lowly and just as bad?!

Beyond all this, he had made Gavin feel uncomfortable, and he was more than positive the petrified man was going to report this to Captain Fowler. Yes, he had every right to do so, because Nines knew and accepted that he had behaved erratically and had gone far out of line and far out of order. He _never_ should have spoken this way to Gavin, much else, _anyone_ he worked with!! The lines of ‘professionalism’ had now been terribly blurred, crossed, and completely annihilated, and it was all his own doing! How was he to even look at Gavin in the eyes, now?! It would be impossible!!!

Still, the selfish and more ‘machine’ side of Nines hoped and prayed that Gavin would be too scared to report anything to Captain Fowler, but the threat was there even in the conversation.

Not wanting to look at it anymore, Nines navigated to the top right-hand corner of the screen, and he selected ‘delete chat history’. Tapping it once resolutely like a judge pounding the gavel down, he’d made his choice; the conversation had to go.

And it was gone in a few seconds, and Nines turned off his phone. He would deal with whatever Gavin had in store for him come Monday, he supposed.

It was strange, though.

While the conversation had been completely erased from his phone, it stood out in his mind as clear as day.

~ѰѰѰѰѰ~

Gavin wasn’t at all surprised when he discovered that Nines had blocked his number. The detective learned of it when the following Monday at work during his break, he tried randomly calling Nines. He’d only done so when he noticed that Nines was purposefully avoiding him this time, and he’d made his mind to pick his belongings up from Nines’ apartment. As a few of his rings went through, after the fourth one, he heard an automated voice telling him that the person he’d been trying to reach wasn’t taking any calls at the moment.

It was a clear message, and due to the absurd conversation they’d had on Saturday, Gavin found he was more relieved than upset. This wasn’t an ex who’d blocked him on their phone, social media accounts, and lives. This was Nines, and he realized Nines had never conceded anything he chose to do at any point, despite Gavin’s own stern stipulations. Perhaps to Nines, they weren’t stipulations, but more like complaints and demands, but to Gavin, they were crucial and requirements.

Still, he didn’t exactly feel thrilled and want to get up and dance on his desk knowing he was blocked. Nines still had a lot of his personal stuff, and he wanted them back! Now that his apartment was clean and free of cat vomit and piss, he had room for his new belongings…kind of. Gavin at least desired to decorate his apartment for Halloween, which was literally half a week away, now. The day fell on a Sunday specifically, which would mean Gavin could be home for the occasion, but the unfortunate part was that it was somewhat difficult to enjoy Halloween in an apartment.

Gavin actually enjoyed handing out candy to children, for they often would come up with cool costume ideas every year as a mark of their creativity and bright, young imaginative minds. He only wanted to take a part in that creativity, but he couldn’t exactly see children running up and down stairwells or taking elevators throughout apartment complexes knocking on doors of every floor to ask for candy…this certainly sucked. Still, that didn’t mean celebrating Halloween was entirely out of the question, and he’d managed to celebrate it in his own special way…

Well, that usually involved being with someone else, at the very least.

All the other years during the holiday, he’d been with girlfriends or relatives. That made it all fun and so much better than being alone in his apartment like some crud just sitting on his couch and watching horror flicks until some unholy hour in the morning the next day.

…Sometimes alcohol had been involved as well if he was alone, and that was specifically the reason why Gavin preferred spending these moments around someone else who could distract him from relying on such means.

But who did he have, now?!

His mother was gone, he had no girlfriends, his cousins and relatives lived in different states, and he was pretty sure Tina didn’t want to really talk to him after their drunken encounter…but perhaps he could try Connor and Hank??

Sure, why not??

Setting aside time during his break, he made sure to breeze past Fowler’s office in a way he wouldn’t be noticed, and he took the trip down to the mail room with his heart weighing slightly less heavier in the hopes that perhaps either of the two of them would be available for a bit.

When he reached the inside of the mail room, Connor was busied with stamping a lot of letters and shredding the ones they no longer needed. He seemed busy, which usually meant ‘stay away until I’m done’, but Gavin wasn’t one for subtlety in matters such as this. Shunting up towards Connor as the RK800 steadfastly worked on, Gavin put on his best smile, and he leaned against the top edge of the desk.

When Connor failed to even look up to acknowledge him, Gavin cleared his throat. “Umm,” losing points already for ‘tact’, he hurriedly pushed out, “what’cha doin’ on Halloween, Connor?”

He heard a small snort coming from Hank, but he chose to ignore it for now.

Connor’s eyes barely flickered up to meet his before he grunted irritably, “Nothing that would interest you, I’m sure.”

“Try me.”

With a sigh, Connor glared up at him so intently, that Gavin visibly shrank from being placed under the android’s scrutinizing gaze. “I’m going out on a date, Gavin,” Connor answered, and as he did, Gavin felt his heart sinking gradually.

“Oh,” came his dull response. “That’s great, man…who’s the lucky—”

“None of your business,” Connor sang out, and then he buried his head and nose once again in his growing mountain of work.

_So much for that_, Gavin thought.

Turning his attention unto Hank, now, Gavin forced a smile onto his face. “What about you, Hank?” Truth be told, he didn’t exactly want to spend Halloween with someone considerably older due to their generation gap and lack of things in common, but he was running out of options quicker than he imagined. Suddenly, everyone appeared to already have ‘plans’…

Wiping his lips with the back of a hand, Hank barked out gruffly, “I’m actually planning on spending the night in with Sumo, Reed.” Smiling gently, he continued, “I bought a pretty big bag of candy, and I want to see who comes trick-or-treating on my doorstep.”

Eyes lighting up at the prospect, Gavin cried, “Oh, great! Care for some company?”

At this precise moment, he saw Hank wincing before he uncomfortably replied, “Err, sorry, Reed, I’d just prefer bein’ on my own for a bit if it’s okay…” Waving a hand, he swiftly said, “Nothing personal, though, okay? I just…I dunno, I sometimes am reminded of Cole around this time of year and around Christmas, so it’s better if I’m alone, if you know what I mean.”

Well, he didn’t, but at the same time, he did. Not a parent himself, Gavin felt a bit strange when he relayed Hank’s statements, and he just couldn’t piece together why Hank would want to be alone if he was plagued with such dark, sad thoughts. At the same time, however, he held enough respect for the older man to understand that everyone grieved in a different way, and for some, the grieving process was lifelong, so it seemed. Who was he to really get in the way of that and step out of bounds to make Hank suffer or feel uncomfortable?

Tossing the other man a curt nod, he tried not voicing aloud his displeasure as he stated, “Cool, fair enough, Hank, just was wonderin’, I suppose.”

As he backed away while scratching the back of his head and then his deep scar running up his nose awkwardly, Gavin knew that Hank sensed his discomfort as he leaned across the table. Staring intently at Gavin, he sighed, “You’re lonely, I get it.”

Immediately getting defensive, Gavin snorted in disgust, “You don’t know shit, Anderson.”

Not wanting to engage in a heated cavil, Hank shrugged, while Connor looked up again, LED light yellow.

“Even I can see that you’re uptight, Gavin,” he butted in as he leaned his head on a propped-up hand casually. “Your body posture says a lot.”

Noticing how badly his neck ached due to being tense and rigid with fury he’d been trying to bottle up inside himself, Gavin finally moved back as he inched towards the door. Waving a hand dismissively at Connor as if his words didn’t mean anything, he spat out heatedly, “Well, you’re wrong, asshole! I’m cool with doin’ my own thing, so why don’t you go fu—”

“Nines is lonely too, Reed,” Hank announced randomly, and it was such an odd statement that it made Gavin freeze up as he held onto the door handle.

An eyebrow quirking up, he grunted out, “What’s that, Anderson?”

Staring at him blankly, it seemed that Hank really was taking into consideration not to display any facial expressions, no doubt a chiefly wise psychological tactic meant for the purposes of keeping things calm so that Gavin didn’t think he was being judged. It worked, and the detective immediately felt significantly calmer. Now, he would allow Hank to speak freely, and the older male took advantage of that opportunity.

“Look, Reed,” he began in a tone that suited a father talking to his son, “while I think you’re doin’ well gettin’ used to accepting androids into society lately and not really bullyin’ people we work with anymore like you used to, I still think you’re awfully pigheaded when it comes to Nines.”

That hadn’t been something he’d wanted to hear, and immediately, he rebuked, “The hell does that shit mean, Hank? I treat Nines the same way I treat Connor.”

Rolling his dark brown eyes, Connor hissed, “Uhh…no, you really don’t.”

“I do too!”

Shaking his head, Hank grumbled, “No, Reed, you really _don’t_, and there’s no sense arguing it when it’s a pretty well-known thing around here.”

Realizing there was no way he could be the victor in this skirmish, Gavin kicked lightly at the door. He really couldn’t say anything aside for, “I don’t want to hang out with Nines for Halloween…or ever!!”

“And why not?” came Hank’s next logical question.

……

There wasn’t a way he could really broach the subject of the weirdness involving Nines on Saturday, really. It was awkward, gross, perverted, sick, and he didn’t want to be seen as a victim who was being sexually harassed by a god damn machine, of all things. That would make him ‘pussy of the month’ in his workplace, and he didn’t need that headache among all other ones he currently had.

Turning his nose up in the air, he just hissed, “He’s a loser, that’s why.”

Hank laughed a dry laugh, “Really, Reed?”

“He dresses funny!” Gavin snapped, which hadn’t been entirely a lie.

“Reed,” Hank growled, and it was no doubt a warning meant to hush Gavin up. It did that well, and Gavin’s mouth closed as he fiddled with the door handle for a while, simply staring at it while his cheeks, ears, and neck heated up.

Only Hank Anderson could scold him enough and render him feeling like a five-year-old.

“Instead of judging Nines, why don’t you try talking to him and befriending him?” Hank’s suggestion bounced off his shoulders and then seemed to slap Gavin across the face roughly.

Glancing up, Gavin’s eyes narrowed. “Look, just because he’s my fake ‘partner’, doesn’t mean I have to see him more, right?”

There was a heavy silence that followed, and it seemed to cut deeply into Gavin’s nerves. “RIGHT?!” he nearly screamed explosively, but all Hank and Connor did was stare down at their work as they both simultaneously shrugged.

Scoffing, Gavin snapped, “Some help you two are.” After all, hadn’t Hank supposedly claimed that Nines was an ‘honorable’, ‘good guy’? How could that be the truth after the twisted, perverse way he’d spoken to him on Saturday?!

Refusing to believe it, Gavin threw his hands up into the air as he stepped out of the mail room.

The door slammed shut loudly, practically shaking the foundations as he stormed away feeling angrier and lonelier than ever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well...this changes the nature of Gavin and Nines' relationship, doesn't it?


	15. Desolate Isolation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holy Odin, sometimes, human kindness absolutely astounds me. Due to an insane (but manageable) emergency I got wrapped up in out of the blue, I thought I was going to have to miss out on posting this fic for a while. Naturally, that would have upset myself as well as a lot of people who enjoy this story, but an amazing friend of mine - Father Owl- kindly stepped up and volunteered to edit the next 3 chapters for me.
> 
> This is a HUGE help, considering how I'm writing this work all on my own, and I have NO betas anymore. Things are tough and rough around the edges, here, and the only way I usually express myself as well as escape from my bipolar and depression IS through writing. To have to think of that being taken away from me was truly heart breaking.
> 
> Thank you, Father Owl, for taking time out of your busy schedule to edit and encourage me to post up to the Halloween chapter I had planned. I swear, I don't think I can and will ever be able to repay you. Mad respect to you, sir.

“Reed, get in here!”

Gavin peered into Captain Fowler’s office meekly, his face hovering in the open doorway while his grouchy superior leaned against a filing cabinet behind his desk with a white file folder in his hands. He was wearing his reading glasses, and they slid down to the tip of his nose as he didn’t even so much as stare at Gavin.

Feeling odd that his boss somehow sensed he’d been lurking about the outside of his office, Gavin cleared his throat as he walked in like a snail on crutches. “Sir?”

“Hmm?” Fowler grunted, still reading the file he was currently holding onto.

“How did you know I was—”

“Reed,” came the low growl, and Captain Fowler finally closed the file folder and shoved it inside one of the top drawers of the cabinet. “I simply got tired of you dancing around my office, son,” he pointed out as he took his reading glasses off and folded them neatly in the left pocket of his dress shirt. “What do you want?”

Well, that was rather neat and to the point, Gavin supposed. Hanging his head down, he asked, “You got anything new for me?”

Understanding where the conversation was going, Fowler nodded as he stroked his chin. “Senior citizen called in last week again because his angsty teenage granddaughter ran off with her boyfriend again.”

Gavin rolled his eyes, “Sooo why doesn’t he call up a damn family counselling service?”

“Don’t give me mouth, Reed,” Fowler growled in a low warning as he lowered his hand away from his chin and placed both his hands on his strong hips, now. “Franklin’s just worried because he woke up to his safe busted wide open, and he had over two grand in the damn thing and now it’s all gone.”

Whistling as his eyebrows rose up to his hairline, Gavin understood, now. “Fair enough, Cap,” he pushed out as he then inquired, “you want me to go get Chris, now?”

Sarcastically, Fowler jutted out his chin as he snapped, “Yeah, Reed, now would be a good fuckin’ time to get Chris.”

“Okay, okay, Jesus!” Moving back quickly, he nearly tripped over the legs of a chair resting against a wall as he poked his head out and stared at Chris. When their eyes met, the other officer gave him an understanding nod.

“Reed,” Fowler grunted, “I want Nines to come along with you two.”

All the blood then ran cold as it turned into ice within Gavin’s body. Turning his neck around so swiftly that it let out an audible ‘crack’, Gavin gasped out, “What?!”

Wincing, Fowler replied, “You best take up some yoga classes, son; you’re not getting any younger, and that noise sounded terrible!!” Ignoring how Gavin threw him a look of sheer contempt, he continued, “That’s why I take some time to attend to my knuckles, back, neck, and—”

“Nines isn’t coming with us, Cap,” Gavin stated dictatorially, as if he was the one in charge.

Fowler didn’t appreciate that at all, and he frowned a deep frown as he snarled, “Yes he is, Reed.”

“No, he’s not!”

“Don’t you argue with me, Reed,” his superior hissed at him acerbically. “Shouldn’t you be happy with this?!”

Confused for a moment, Gavin threw out, “What’re you talkin’ about?”

Waving a hand at the ceiling, Fowler snapped, “Gavin, whatever the hell you’re puttin’ in your coffee, you ought to—”

“Why would I be happy with Nines tagging along?!” Gavin screamed, not wanting to venture off topic for long, and he hated that Fowler seemed to be insisting upon it a lot today.

Rolling his eyes impatiently, Fowler huffed, “Reed, isn’t he your fiancé?”

Oh…it all slammed back into his head, right then. Yes, Nines was his ‘fiancé’, and normally, a lot of people desired to be close to their fiancé. He shouldn’t have been the only exception to the rule, and Captain Fowler seemed already highly suspicious.

Tapping a finger on his chin in deep thought as a serious expression overcame his face, Captain Fowler stated, “You’re not having domestic issues, are you, Reed?”

Oh for fuck’s sake. So _that’s_ the direction Fowler’s brain and thoughts had wandered off in? Fantastic.

Shaking his head in disbelief, Gavin snapped, “You’re ridiculous, Jeffrey.”

It didn’t matter that he’d used the other man’s first name; Fowler still pushed on. Sitting on the edge of his desk, he nodded at Gavin seriously. “Son, I’ve been married for nearly three whole decades,” he advised, “I won’t claim that marriage is an easy, joyous picnic! You gotta struggle and work hard every day!”

In an orotund voice, Gavin said, “That’s great, Cap, but if you don’t mind,” gesturing out into the bullpen, he finished, “gonna get goin’, now!!”

Fowler’s bombastic voice followed him as he descended the steps. “You’ll learn that every couple has their own methods of solving problems, Gavin,” he stated as he walked the same path Gavin had, clearly trying to follow him as the short detective disappeared. “Maybe you’ll learn to like Nines and appreciate everything he does for you!”

Not wanting to hear it anymore, Gavin cried out, “We’ll be back within an hour or two, Fowler!!”

An odd game of ‘ignoring’ seemed to carry out between Captain Fowler and Gavin Reed, then. As Gavin approached the area Chris was working in, Fowler stood tall and proud as he bellowed out, “Talking is a good way to learn a lot, Reed!!” Holding out his hands, he added, “You can always come to me for anything, son!! Remember; I have years of experience!!”

With the wave of a hand as his back was facing his superior, Gavin sighed and then nodded over at Chris. “Let’s go.”

“I mean, why not give it a try for the sake of this union?” Fowler continued his rant, shoving his hands deeply in his pockets and staring all around the bullpen in a fatuous way. “I know I like him!!”

Knowing he’d still been talking Nines up, Gavin only rolled his eyes and headed towards the DPD cars with Chris Miller at his heels, closely following with a little smirk painted over his face.

~ѰѰѰѰѰ~

The mood grew rather noisome as Gavin and Officer Chris Miller drove onward to check up on Franklin O’Sullivan, an elderly citizen of Detroit who’d reported numerous cases of having disputes and altercations with his granddaughter Mercedes. This had been the fourth case in the last two months, and needless to say, Gavin had grown weary of this. Evidently, Chris Miller had as well, but he still sat beside Gavin and stared at his phone while offering Gavin a small, toothy grin every so often.

Gavin soon grew weary of that, too.

Staring over at Chris, he barked, “What?”

The officer merely smiled and shook his head, “We’re gonna get our asses in hot water with Fowler.”

“So?”

“So…” Chris jerked his head at the window, “…I think it’s a little silly that _my_ skin’s on the line because _you_ chose to not let Nines tag along.”

Gavin threw the other man a rather quizzical look. “Since when do you care, man?”

Eyelashes fluttering sarcastically, Chris replied, “Since I noticed you and Nines got some trouble after the honeymoon period!!”

“Shut up, Chris,” Gavin hissed as he saw the sign bearing the street name ‘Dover Drive’. They turned right, and relying on pure rote memory due to having been here so many times, without much of a hassle, he located house number 76 in a jiffy.

As they parked on the right side of the street and got out of the vehicle, Franklin could be seen raking the leaves in the front yard of his property. He’d already bundled the crunchy, dried-up leaves into one large pile, and the child within Gavin wanted to go off running and leaping straight into it…

Shrugging that off, he nodded as he gave a small auspicious wave at Franklin. “Hey Franklin!”

“Hey Mr. O’Sullivan,” Chris followed in his lead as he too greeted the elderly man.

Wearing a small, blue tuque on his head, Franklin shifted his round, stout self over to lean on the top of his rake as he grunted at them both. “Afternoon, detectives.”

The yard looked a lot better and cleaner than in the summer, which meant that Franklin possibly had worked on it a lot more than he had rested inside the house. Gavin sometimes worried about the man approaching his seventies, but he kept his personal comments and worries to himself as he surveyed the property and noticed a few lights were on inside the main floor of the house.

“Mind if we chat inside, Franklin?”

Extending a hand away from his red and green plaid jacket, the chubby man answered, “By all means, you guys know the way.”

In no time at all, both Gavin and Chris found themselves standing near the end of the hallway. Franklin’s home was clean, tidy, quiet, and rather cold, but Gavin didn’t say a lot about it. Franklin lived in a pretty decent and well-to-do neighborhood, and his home reflected the fruits of his labor as a retired judge. The expensive home shined brightly when the sun hit it the right way, and all the furniture, decorations, as well as internal designs made Gavin rigid with envy as he thought about the tiny hovel he called ‘home’.

Putting way his rake and gardening equipment in the garage, Franklin wiped his hands over his grey sweatpants, and he turned and gently pulled the tuque off his head. He revealed silvery wisps of hair that were rather thin and wiry, and he hung his hat on a hook rack near the garage door.

Pulling down on his plaid jacket, he murmured, “I suppose you’ll want to take a look at the safe.”

“Err, sure,” Chris replied, “we can go from there.”

“Good.”

As Franklin led the way down the hall, Chris asked him a series of usual questions when it came to missing items and suspected robbery. Gavin listened…at first. Very soon however, his mind wandered to the current problem he was facing:

He had no one to spend Halloween with.

This bothered him, as he was well aware that Chris had toddlers and a wife to go home to and spend time with for sure on that occasion. These thoughts soon made the fractious detective begin stewing, and it got worse as he began experiencing some kind of otherworldly sensation. His mind remained on thoughts of his annoying predicament, while his ears, eyes, body, and even skin registered the feelings of walking down into Franklin’s cellar while Chris and the elderly ex-judge spoke on. He was aware of how much colder and staler the air was down there, and he saw shadows and the sight of the safe that had been broken in, the contents gone and everything else amiss.

But he still couldn’t get his mind off _his_ problems.

For one, why had Nines blocked him!?!? It was such a stupid, childish thing to do, really!! He hadn’t even really done anything to warrant being blocked!!! If anything, _he_ should’ve been the one blocking Nines, yet he hadn’t! He was way more mature!!! Nines had acted completely out of line, and he’d been gross and perverted, so what the hell!!!

“She’s being influenced by her older boyfriend, I can tell!”

He heard Franklin’s voice speak out from somewhere, but his thoughts were murky and muddied with everything being centered around Nines.

And _why_ was he even thinking about the pervy, saucy android, even?!?! Why wouldn’t his importunate, incessant thoughts leave him alone for once!!!

…….

It was so silent, suddenly…

Gazing up at Chris and Franklin, Gavin was met with two sets of angry eyes.

What…

“Reed!” Chris snapped, shaking him by the shoulders a little. “The hell’s gotten into you?!”

Clearing his throat as he tried making up for his minor bumble, he hoped that it would be enough to obnubilate himself and make up for his ineptitude…not that he considered himself inept, really.

“Haven’t you heard a word Franklin’s been saying?” Chris asked, eyes wide with a frenzied look, and Gavin knew he was slipping.

Shaking himself, he just whispered out, “Sorry, it’s kinda cold in here.”

That excuse seemed to somewhat buy some time, as Franklin nodded his agreement. “Yeah, sorry, I have to keep it cooler here because I store a lot of meat down here in my freezers, detective.”

With an eye roll, Chris said, “Alright, let’s just get back on topic, then.”

Trying to leap into the conversation so it seemed like he really was participating and ‘alert’, Gavin asked, “So w-when was the last time you saw your granddaughter?”

Looking at the dark ceiling, Franklin replied, “Oh, it was sometime after dinner, because it took me nearly an age to get her down. She was texting her boyfriend for nearly an hour, and we had an argument prior to that about her recent credit card bill…”

Again, Gavin tried staying as focused as he could, but it just didn’t work, and it didn’t last long. His focus soon slipped and gave way into the recesses of his mind, and his repressed thoughts soon came burgeoning forth like a stallion out of wild flames in the night.

He didn’t really want to go home alone to an empty apartment!! Well, it _technically_ wasn’t that empty, as he had the cats, good Wi-Fi, good cable, loud neighbors…okay…so he was lonely, and it was all empty inside his apartment, and inside himself…

Fuck.

Stooping lower into his own self-subsisting misery, Gavin felt his mood turning to shit, and a sour look was upon his face. Damn Nines. This was all his fucking fault!! Now, Gavin almost wanted to be petty and vindictive enough to report him to Fowler, at least.

But it wouldn’t make a lot of sense if he did…technically speaking, they were ‘together’ in the eyes of everyone they worked with. That was the first fallacy that went against his ‘plan’. The second was that Nines hadn’t done anything to him during work hours that could help Gavin build a strong case against him. He would be laughed right out of Fowler’s office if he even dared open his mouth about any of it, and anyone else would no doubt tell him to seek a marriage counsellor if he had issues with his fiancé.

Shit. What the fuck had he gotten himself into?!

As he stood there glaring a hole into the wall behind Franklin’s head, he was yet again shaken out of his reverie by Chris.

“Gavin…”

Christ. He really was going to be in trouble, soon.

Turning gaunt, he asked Franklin, “Umm, yeah, I uh…do you think that your granddaughter’s boyfriend may have something to do with this?”

……

Clearly, that was the wrong thing to say.

Both Chris and Franklin seemed weary of his fatuous comments, and his colleague grabbed him by both shoulders as he guided him back up the steps to the main level of the house. “Alright, Gavin,” Chris sighed, “I think you’re better off back in the car.”

As he reached the front door of the house, he gently pushed Gavin out as he whispered, “Wait for me; I’ll wrap this up as quickly as I can, okay?” Finishing it all off with a surreptitious wink thrown in the detective’s way, he then slammed the door on Gavin’s bewildered face.

The confused detective was left feeling even angrier and more upset, but he still sat down patiently inside the vehicle. True to his promise and words, Chris soon emerged from the house not even twenty-five minutes after.

“Back to the DPD?” he asked softly, and Gavin merely nodded slowly.

It went without saying that that’s where they had to go, of course, but Gavin sensed that Chris only asked that to avoid further conversations with him.

Gavin hadn’t been wrong.

The drive back to the DPD had been made in sheer silence, with every nerve in Gavin’s body on fire as a nasty, sickly, gut-wrenching sensation twisted and turned in his stomach the entire time. He recognized it as fury.

Odd, it’d been so long since he felt that.

~ѰѰѰѰѰ~

In the past, his mother had often told him that he needed to grow a pair of nuts, man up, and just ask for something if he really wanted it. Along the way, plenty of school friends had further backed this up, though the manner in which they’d communicated to Gavin about his state of ‘cowardice’ seemed to lack propriety unlike how his mother often phrased things.

He’d been called a ‘pussy’, a ‘little bitch’, and a ‘momma’s boy’ plenty of times that it eventually backfired. Instead of helping him turn into a more courageous, outspoken man, Gavin crashed and sank into an aggressive shell of what a man of his age and intellectual caliber should’ve been displaying in the ways of social etiquette and behavior. He was far too aggressive, and he often mixed aggression with bullying and harassing people, it seemed. It wasn’t his fault, however. No one had really been around to show him how to be assertive without being overly aggressive and callous, and the two terms and meanings were now synonymous to Gavin Reed. He mimicked what he’d seen and learned on television and through the internet culture, of course, and that had only contributed to the steady and gradual decline in his friendships, healthy relationships, and people he kept close and dear in his life.

As a result, he knew he was the source of his problems and misery, and all because he couldn’t be fucked to sit in a room and talk about his problems with some therapist like a sissy girl…classic. Why be a victim?! He wasn’t a god damn victim, and he didn’t need anyone’s help or pity!! He needed to learn the hard way, yes! He perhaps needed to suffer and ache all alone inside without anyone knowing it, and while that was terribly painful and unhealthy for his overall state of psychosis, he supposed that in the end, he would probably turn out to be a stronger, better version of himself.

Through hardships, real men were born; great men were molded.

He was _not_ a god damn victim!!

As he kept reminding himself of this fact when he returned to work the next day, Gavin kept to himself, and as a result, he hardly saw much of anyone, really. Perhaps it was better off this way, but he had no idea that he was giving off some kind of dark aura that warded a greater majority of his co-workers off before they could even approach him. As such, the esteemed team of detectives, officers, and lieutenants seemed to be able to sense and spot an angry Gavin Reed a mile away, and they avoided him like the damn plague.

The ticking time-bomb of a man didn’t seem to care, however, and he got lost and drowned in his mountains and piles of work.

Days flew by quickly, and very soon, Friday was upon them. The Friday leading up to the Sunday of October 31st, of course.

Great.

Reminded further of his failures, Gavin sat at his desk and wondered just how to swallow his pride and try to at least maybe approach Nines and ask him for his stuff back.

Yes…he had no choice, he supposed, that was, unless Nines had already thrown his stuff out like he’d threatened a while ago. Sadistic machine!! Gavin wouldn’t be surprised if he had indeed done that, but he hoped not, anyway. It was all Nines had for barter, he supposed.

Trying not to mutter to himself while he thought of how to even try speaking to Nines, Gavin didn’t see Captain Fowler sauntering up to him and grabbing a nearby vacant chair.

Plopping himself down onto it, the police Captain offered Gavin an exuberant grin as he cleared his throat to begin his ‘speech’.

Before he could say a word, however, Gavin-who was still staring on at the center of his desk emptily-softly groaned out, “I know; I fucked up.”

A telephone rang somewhere in the distance while Fowler paused, and then sighed as he clasped his hands together neatly in his lap. “You don’t even know what I’m gonna say, Reed,” he stated intelligently, though Gavin didn’t seem to be in the mood to care.

“Well sir,” he bemoaned, “not to be an asshole or anything, but you normally only come around if something’s really wrong.”

Fowler only eyed his temporary companion with resignation. “Touché, Reed,” he huffed as he drew up his left leg and curled it against his chest while looping and wrapping both arms around the kneecap, fingers folded and intertwined as he stretched. Repeating the same motion with his right leg, he set both feet down after stretching.

With a sigh, Gavin drawled, “Look, I know I wasn’t all up on my game with O’Sullivan, but I promise that—”

Holding up a hand to silence him, Fowler whispered, “Gavin, relax; Chris told me that you did your best the other day, and it’s fine. Your stellar skills and attributes have always been noticeable, and I’m not here to comment on your performance.”

Under Fowler’s gentle tutelage and insistence, Gavin relaxed considerably. “Then what’s going on, Cap?”

Smiling softly, Captain Fowler replied, “Now, don’t get angry, Reed, but Connor and Hank approached me just this morning, and they told me that they’re a bit concerned because you seemed to be begging for them to hang out with you.”

How prolific. Truly, the fecund individuals Gavin was now more than angry with needed a good talking to.

Trying to remain calm, Gavin spoke out, “Look, I’m sure that those stalwart bastards—”

“Reed,” Fowler warned, but it didn’t matter.

“—think they’re doing me justice by interferin’ in my personal shit, but it wasn’t even a legit conversation, Cap! It was just an off-the-cuff thing!”

“They were worried about you, Reed!”

“How industrious!” Gavin yelled, but when he saw a few other officers milling about the bullpen and halls, he lowered his voice considerably. “I don’t need anyone’s help, Jeffrey!!” While Gavin assured his superior of this steadfastly, he found he was willing to entertain the possibility that perhaps he truly needed help and company after all…

Fowler must have seen something in his eyes, because he gave him a hard, assessing look and asked, “How are you feeling, really?”

“Don’t worry about it,” the hard-pressed detective said pragmatically.

“Reed, I think that’s a lie,” Fowler hissed irritably, “and I resent that just as much as I resent being slapped in the mouth!!”

Not wanting to give himself away, Gavin tried laughing despite his evaporating anger as it molded into feelings of pain and misery. It was all he could do while Fowler studied him seriously.

“I can smell how lonely and frustrated you must be, Gavin,” he stated softly as he used the other man’s first name as a means of identifying and empathizing with him more.

“You don’t know anything, Jeffrey…”

Shaking his head, the bulky man retorted, “Trust me, Gavin, I can smell it like a fart in an elevator.”

“I said I’m fine,” Gavin mustered a fake smile, trying to back up this putrid lie as best as he could.

Fowler’s expression indicated that he expected honesty from him, and Gavin truthfully didn’t think he would be able to last much longer under the scrutinizing gaze of his boss. Shrugging, he made up his story, “I have good days and bad days…just about what you’d expect from someone who’s been through some weird shit, Jeffrey. I think it’s more than time to get on with my life.” Tapping a finger on some paperwork on his desk, he added, “_And_ in addendum, it’s time to get on with my work!!”

While he stared emptily at his papers, not really in the mood to work, Fowler grunted, “Amazing, Reed…” When Gavin’s eyes met his, he continued, “Unless you’re in one heck of a shitty relationship-which you can’t be, considering how I’ve known Nines to be nothing but a great, outstanding individual-then this shit is just odd as hell, Gavin.” As Gavin granted him enough silence so he could press on, he did. “Son, most people spend time with their loved ones when they’re feeling this way! It’s okay to go through shit like this, you know,” he stated openly as he folded his arms across his broad chest. “No one’s sayin’ you can’t feel this way, Reed, but I have to tell you that I’m frankly stunned to see that instead of turning to your fiancé, you’re choosing to sit here and stew in your own anger.”

Gavin honestly had no words. He didn’t trust his mouth, so he didn’t open it. He only resorted to remaining still while he distracted himself from the messed-up things Fowler was saying.

“I know you want to be alone, now,” the diminutive, weak statement was breathed out of Fowler’s lungs as the other man pushed his chair back by planting both legs firmly onto the floor and moving his hips back.

The admonishing look Fowler tossed him made Gavin feel like he was twelve, but he didn’t say anything. Biting his tongue while he watched the other man grip the edge of the chair and slightly yank it back against his chest, he felt nervous and fearful, suddenly, and those feelings always made Gavin furious.

How weak was he, really!?!?

“Talk to your fiancé, Reed,” Fowler encouraged gently with a small smile dancing along his eyes and face, “plan something exciting to do with him for Halloween night.”

He couldn’t envision ever being that close to Nines, but rather than disparage his supposed ‘beloved’ in front of Captain Fowler and run the risk of this all blowing up, Gavin’s face twisted into a frown.

Fear, exultation and longing all roiling inside him, Gavin was wracked with tremendous pain that only served to devastate him as he merely sat and felt that he hadn’t blinked in an age. His eyeballs were going dry, and as they stung horribly, he heard Captain Fowler moving back as he shifted away from him, then.

“Enjoy your weekend, Gavin,” he stated warmly and kindly. “And remember, I’m only a phone call away, son…” Before he turned around and walked off completely, though, he snapped a few fingers and whirled back around. “Oh! Reed!” he let out a small laugh as he slapped himself lightly in the forehead, “my old ass nearly forgot to ask you!”

Staring at him in shock, Gavin managed weakly, “Sir?”

A genuine look of curiosity flooded over Fowler’s features as he gently inquired, “When do you suppose the wedding will be??” He hadn’t caught the look of utter horror and contempt that overcame Gavin’s face. Too busy with staring across the bullpen, Fowler sighed, “It’s been so long since I attended a wedding!! I _am_ invited, right Gavin?”

Gavin truly was stumped; he had no words.


	16. Carving Pumpkins

And so, here Gavin found himself sat in the kitchen of his dingy, dark apartment Saturday night as he stared at his phone until his eyes singed and burned.

Disappointed not to be given more hope, he knew that it would be better not to have any expectations. It would lessen the devastation when the time came to accept the inevitable, but some small part of himself refused to give up the dream. Maybe it hadn’t been long enough for him to let go without a fight. Or maybe he was just grasping at straws.

Finally admitting it out loud to himself, he sighed out, “I have to text Nines.” While he knew for certain his calls were blocked, he didn’t think his texts were. None of them bounced back when he’d sent a few during the week, but he still was certain Nines was merely avoiding him out of a fear that Gavin would’ve reported his unbecoming bawdy conduct to Captain Fowler.

Some excuse to avoid someone.

Amused by the ploy only marginally, Gavin felt inordinately irritated as the night went on. Why wasn’t Nines asking him if he wanted his stuff back?!?! Wasn’t it enough that he’d avoided him during work, but now outside of work, too!? Nines knew he had nothing going on, and with tomorrow being Halloween, Gavin felt that the levels of his boredom would never cease.

Fuck it. It was time to step outside of his comfort zones. He was done with sitting and waiting while he reflected ruefully and occasionally contemplated murder…kinda. It was just better to come right out with what he wanted! After all, that’s what real men would do, anyway; just take whatever they wanted and needed!!

Sliding his phone into his nimble hands, he immediately set to work on locating Nines’ stupid contact name, and he got ready to fire off a text that had continued from the previous conversation thread…a conversation thread he realized he hadn’t deleted because he’d originally been a vindictive jackass meaning to keep them and show them to Fowler.

Oh well.

‘You catch more flies with honey than vinegar,’ the stupid saying went.

Snorting at his thoughts, he ignored the fact that he was sitting staring morosely into the screen of the phone as it nearly went to sleep.

No!! He had to get out his message; he _had_ to be heard!

Fighting the desolation that threatened to stir within himself, Gavin tried keeping things simple and sweet, and he did.

Staring down at the message pieced together, he nodded in confirmation as he accepted that he thought it would suffice.

**Gavin Reed, 10:28 p.m.**

**youve been avoviding me, Nines, and i know u blocked me, but i need u 2 hear me out then i will leave u alone. k?**

Cursing himself for sending it with spelling errors, he bit and chewed on the insides of his mouth, lower lip, and then his fingernails as he stared. Time was ticking, and nearly half an hour went by with no response.

Shit!!

On the edge of desperation, Gavin texted random things, and soon, a series of them came flying out of him as he lost himself to the litany of concern and growing fears that he was going to always be this miserable and alone. His emotions guided him and goaded him into losing all semblances of control as he texted wildly like a mad man.

**Gavin Reed, 10:57 p.m.**

**Nines, pls dont ignore me**

**Gavin Reed, 10:58 p.m.**

**i know u get these. answer me!**

**Gavin Reed, 11:01 p.m.**

**Hello?**

**Gavin Reed, 11:03 p.m.**

**Nines**

**Gavin Reed, 11:05 p.m.**

**bitch! Ur a bitch!! **

**Gavin Reed, 11:06 p.m. **

**way 2 b a plastic btich**

Slamming his hands down on his table, he wished and wished for _any_ type of a response as his mind registered the sounds of his appliances in the kitchen whirring and operating, while the steady sounds of night life egged him on into a deeper seat of anger. His cat mewled somewhere in the dark, and a few of her kittens purred.

“Nines!!”

Running out of time and options, Gavin wheezed, “Just say something, please? I c-can’t be a-alone right now…I can’t…” Resisting the urge to sob, he held his face in his hands and stared down at his lap like a scolded child put in a time out corner.

He felt so small and so lost…

“Nines…”

As if on cue, his phone suddenly vibrated, and Gavin snatched it like a bear swiping at a fish that leapt out of the waters upstream. Holding it tightly, he practically made his face kiss the cold screen as he read the words Nines had sent.

**Fuck Stick Plastic Prick, 11:24 p.m.**

**If you want my help in any matter, Reed, I wouldn’t encourage for you to keep swearing at me.**

Vastly relieved there was a reply-as acerbic as it was, his heart could be felt bouncing in jubilation that Nines was at least talking to him again. Wanting to hold onto the conversation before Nines got wrapped up doing something else, Gavin rushed out his reply in a jiffy. Of course, sweaty fingers didn’t help make his text easy to decipher, but it would have to do for now.

**Gavin Reed, 11:27 p.m.**

**k im sorry , firt and forms t Nines. i ws nt the nicest gu y arudn btu i need 2 atalk.**

Almost instantly, Nines replied simply with a solid ‘no’.

**Gavin Reed, 11:29 p.m.**

**y!?!?!?**

**Fuck Stick Plastic Prick, 11:30 p.m.**

**Because that’s my wish, Reed. Far too much has been said and done already between us that what wasn’t initially agreed upon, and considering our last conversation, I’m sure you’ve done the right thing and reported my impropriety to Captain Fowler.**

Shaking his head, it was Gavin’s turn to text out a strong NO.

**Fuck Stick Plastic Prick, 11:32 p.m.**

**Why not? **

**Gavin Reed, 11:33 p.m.**

**cuz i didn t wanna**

**Fuck Stick Plastic Prick, 11:35 p.m.**

**It would’ve been the right thing to do, Reed. **

**Gavin Reed, 11:36 p.m.**

**Lleave that shit aside fr a momtn, Nines,,, .. I still have my shit inn ur place.**

It’d taken a little while before Nines sent:

**Fuck Stick Plastic Prick, 11:41 p.m.**

**Fine. Since it’s a burden for us both, I can mail your items to you, Reed. It’ll save you from having to live through the horrors accustomed with seeing me and being in my presence. **

What exactly he’d expected in the way of reticence or shyness after not having spoken to Nines in a week, Gavin wasn’t sure, but android’s sauciness and boldness delighted him. Nines didn’t seem to want to back down at all, and his fractious attitude seemed to carry over to Gavin and fed his courage slowly.

**Gavin Reed, 11:44 p.m.**

**ill get mey stuff soon, bt waswonderin if u wanted to hang out for Halloween tmrrw/?**

Even though his entire body was both on fire and frozen stiff, he was happy he’d sent it out. Courage was rewarding, in some ways.

**Fuck Stick Plastic Prick, 11:46 p.m.**

**Why on Earth would you want to spend time with me?**

**Gavin Reed, 11:47 p.m.**

**cuz im as lonely as u **

Almost as though he’d been purposefully trying to push and keep Gavin away, Nines deferred to the use of scare tactics.

**Fuck Stick Plastic Prick, 11:48 p.m.**

**Aren’t you scared?**

**Gavin Reed, 11:49 p.m.**

**of? **

**Fuck Stick Plastic Prick, 11:49 p.m.**

**I could molest you.**

Gavin found himself laughing at this as though Nines had told him the funniest joke on the planet. It wasn’t a fake laugh, however; it was a genuine, face scrunched up, eyes wrinkled in bliss, lungs burning, stomach and ribs aching sort of laugh given the android’s odd choice in words. Tears formed in the corners of his eyes, and when he was ready, he wiped them as he texted through blurry eyes.

**Gavin Reed, 11:51 p.m.**

**dont b slly, Nines. u wounldt hurt me. **

**Fuck Stick Plastic Prick, 11:51 p.m.**

**Well, you treated me as a common criminal, so how am I to think otherwise?**

Not giving up, Gavin stayed on target as he hurriedly texted:

**Gavin Reed, 11:52 p.m.**

**spend Halloween with me. we can acarve pumpkings , watch movies, whatever u want. just chill wit me fr a bit.**

Almost picturing the android gazing at him across the table with his expression inscrutable, Gavin read the next message he’d been sent with Nines’ rich, deep voice echoing in his skull.

**Fuck Stick Plastic Prick, 11:54 p.m.**

**So this is what the French mean by ‘Le petite morte’: The little death. **

**Thanks for that, Reed.**

At this point, he was unable to help it.

**Gavin Reed, 11:55 p.m.**

**Unblock me so i can call**

Surprisingly, Nines did just that, and he said so as he told Gavin to call if he wanted.

Without even hesitating, Gavin rang him up, and the android picked up in the middle of the second ring.

Grinning, Gavin sat up in his chair, “So, wanna smash pumpkins with me, Nines?” He knew he sounded like an odd sycophant fan or follower of some idol, but he couldn’t have helped it if he tried; it wasn’t a thing to be changed, after all.

Humming at first, Nines eventually hissed, “All Hallow’s Eve spent with you, Reed? Sounds charming.”

“Hey! We both live in apartments!”

“And your point?” Nines growled deeply, though he didn’t sound too annoyed.

Smirking with confidence, Gavin felt one of the kittens gently pawing at his legs. Peering down, he picked up the runt of the litter, holding him down into his lap as he stroked his head gently and tenderly. “My point is that we won’t be bothered by the doorbell ringing every ten or so minutes because of kids beggin’ for candy, Nines!!” Like a child, he cried out jovially, “That means more for us!!! Err, me!!”

A huff came out of the android, and Gavin found it wasn’t altogether unpleasant to listen to. In fact, Nines’ deep voice sent a dull thrill and a hum of a vibration from his ear all the way down to his toes, rattling his rib cage nicely.

“Very well, Reed,” he conceded, “don’t arrive prior to six, as I’ll be out running a few errands.”

Clicking his tongue against his teeth while he felt the kitten almost asleep in his lap, Gavin sighed out in satisfaction, “Trust me Nines, you’ll thank me for this!”

“Gloating is unseemly,” Nines stated plainly, causing Gavin to grin like a fool.

~ѰѰѰѰѰ~

Six p.m. on Sunday sure took its time, but it finally arrived, thanks to Gavin’s great sense of patience displayed. He found time actually went by decently enough when he did his weekly laundry, and then went off shopping for food, as well as the pumpkins. He purchased two, but Nines’ was a little smaller than his own, just in case the insouciant android grew bored of carving his pumpkin faster than anticipated.

Placing them in the back of his car, Gavin found he was already parked in Nines’ apartment complex parking lot at almost ten to six. Not wanting to be too early, he had a smoke for those remaining ten minutes before it was time to go.

Knocking gently on Nines’ apartment door, it didn’t take too long before Gavin heard it unlocking. Once it swung open, he was faced with Nines, who looked as impeccable as ever. Dressed in a grey dress shirt and matching grey dress pants, he waved Gavin in.

“On time, Reed,” he commented as he looked down at the pumpkins, “and with friends, I see.”

Providing an insouciant shrug, Gavin said without preamble, “I figured you maybe wanted to carve your own pumpkin.”

“How thoughtful,” came the not-so-sarcastic purr, and Nines peeked over his shoulder at the kitchen table. To his amusement, Gavin found that red, purple, deep blue, and black candles had been lit in tiny rows upon it, and on the left side of the row of candles was the little plushie zombie he’d found in _Bed, Bath and Beyond_. On the right side rested the wreath. It was propped between the wall and the table, however, but it looked nice. Nines had even gone out of his way to decorate his apartment for Halloween, and he’d done so using the skull-shaped piggybank and gargoyle globe with glitter Gavin had purchased a while ago when they went shopping. The piggybank and gargoyle sat on a table near the end of the front hall. The small chandelier that was vintage and gothic in design hung in the living room now, and the creepy painting of the jack-o’lantern grinning evilly in the dark hang been hung up behind the loveseat on the wall.

Nines had cleared the rest of the table for the carving in less than a few seconds, and Gavin placed the pumpkins right on top of the table gently. He couldn’t stop staring at the decorations and candles, and he snickered, “Where’d you get those?”

“The same places we visited two weeks ago,” came the honest reply instantly, and it caused Gavin’s face to heat up.

“Right…” Not wanting to dwell on that for long, Gavin asked, “You know how to carve a pumpkin?”

With a fastidious wave, Nines pulled out a chair for Gavin. “I know the logistics behind it, Reed,” he replied smugly before his eyes turned somber, “but I haven’t put it to practice, I’m afraid.”

Snickering, Gavin joked, “Well, that’s what I’m here for, I guess.” Taking a seat before the candles, then, he watched as Nines headed into the kitchen and brought out two large knives.

Passing one to Gavin, Nines smirked as he said, “Oh yes, Reed, I’ve been reserving this special moment all my life for you to assist me with pumpkin carving.”

“We all have a purpose in life,” Gavin continued on the humorous note while Nines stood next to him and watched in amusement as Gavin then pulled out three large newspapers from a white plastic bag he’d brought along as well. Laying the newspapers out on the table once he’d gently pushed the vampire bat tablecloth aside so it wouldn’t get messy, he steadied his pumpkin in his left hand as he held onto the knife.

Smiling at Nines, he explained, “We have to first use the serrated knife to cut off the crown of our pumpkins.” As he explained this, he cut around the circumference of the top of the pumpkin.

Although Nines already knew this was involved in the carving process, he found he couldn’t stop Gavin from talking him through it. He actually didn’t mind listening to Gavin speak…

Following in Gavin’s lead Nines got to work. Soon, both Nines and Gavin took the tops of their pumpkins off, and they set them to the side of the table. Still remaining on his feet, Nines inquired, “Next steps, Reed?”

Chuckling playfully, Gavin barked out, “Using a large serving spoon, we gotta scoop out the seeds of these babies!”

“And thus, I make a second trip to the kitchen,” Nines thought aloud wryly, doing just that. In a few quick seconds, he handed Gavin his spoon, and Gavin grinned at him for it.

Rolling his eyes, Nines lightly hissed, “Don’t look so smug.”

“You’re just upset because you have to keep on walking back and forth!!”

“That, I am.”

With a tiny shrug, Gavin had already started scooping the flesh and seeds out, and he yanked them up in fistfuls. “Well, then next time, sit down immediately,” he joked mildly, “everyone knows that whoever remains standing is the ‘assistant’ or ‘volunteer’.”

While scooping as well deeply within the pumpkin after he’d rolled up both sleeves to his elbows, Nines gently asked, “Did you carve a lot of pumpkins when you were younger?”

And to think that the evening had started off so pleasantly. Leave it to Nines to unknowingly poke about and try to pry in the past; a part of himself that Gavin very much wanted to seal off in the land of ‘Forget It’.

Responding slightly aggressively, he jerked his neck towards his pumpkin, “Meh, it doesn’t matter, so just do your work.”

Quirking up a brow, Nines stated openly, “If only you were this focused during actual work.”

Not really centering his thoughts on the minor jab at his work ethics and skills, Gavin found himself lost in his thoughts as he remembered one of his more ‘happier’ Halloweens. It was a day his dad was actually home, shockingly, and he’d been the one who’d helped Gavin carve his first pumpkin…

“Reed?”

“Hmm?”

Shaken out of his memories, he turned to the side and saw that Nines had stacked and mounted all the seeds in one large pile. Gooey hands wavering in the air, the android held a confused expression on his face as he asked, “Are you okay?”

Shrugging him off, Gavin switched gears right away expertly. “Got a marker?”

“Uhh,” Nines peered over at the coffee table awkwardly, and then held up his hands. “Would you do the honors?”

Huffing in slight annoyance, Gavin pushed aside his laziness as he snatched the dark permanent marker off the tray in the living room resting flatly on the coffee table. Popping the cap open, he walked back into the kitchen, flashing it before Nines’ eyes.

“Nice,” Nines commented. “Now we draw?”

“Now we draw,” Gavin repeated, and to be fair, he decided to target Nines’ pumpkin first. “What pattern are you thinking of?”

Thinking quickly, Nines answered, “Just a grin, Reed; simple and sweet.”

“Fair enough.” Hands moving quickly, he drew a simple outline of a face on the pumpkin, and then did the same for his own, except his pumpkin had eyebrows, looked ‘eviler’, and seemed more rushed. Using the small serrated knife, he cut out the eyes, nose and mouth on both pumpkins, and tossed the meaty bits aside.

Watching him the entire time, Nines eventually smiled once both pumpkins were done. “I like them.”

“Yep,” Gavin answered shortly, and he made sure to chip off one of the teeth on his pumpkin, trying to add some style here and there, while he made Nines’ pumpkin’s teeth a little sharper.

Nodding over at the candles, he then asked, “Got a tea light candle by any chance?”

Staring oddly towards the bathroom, Nines coughed, “In there.”

Freezing for a moment, Gavin lifted a brow as he snickered, “That’s…that’s kinda weird, Nines…” Why was the dour android so addicted to keeping candles around, lately?!

“Instead of mocking, get walking.” Nines stepped back as he went to wash his hands in the kitchen, disappearing in the tiny plant garden he’d stored away in his kitchen.

“Okay, weirdo,” Gavin muttered to himself, retrieving the candles and then making his way back towards both pumpkins.

Popping two tea lights inside the pumpkins, he lit them first and replaced the crowns on top. Standing back to admire their work, he flashed a thumbs-up at Nines. “Lookin’ good,” he approved with a few jerky head nods. “Where do you wanna place them?”

A wide smile was on Nines’ face, and he grabbed his pumpkin tightly. “Outside on the front steps of the apartment,” he suggested eagerly. “We can showcase them there for a bit, and before it gets really late, we can store them in the front lobby.”

“Yeah!” Gavin bounced up, holding his pumpkin to his chest as well. “I like the sound of that, Nines!!”

“Something told me you would, Detective.”

The smile was unmistakable in Nines’ voice this time.

~ѰѰѰѰѰ~

Nines’ idea had been brilliant, and Gavin really found he enjoyed looking at not only their new Jack-o’-lanterns sitting outside on the middle steps near the railings, but he also enjoyed looking over at least another fifteen or so Jack-o’-lanterns as well.

“This seems to be an idea everyone living here has,” he pointed out facetiously, and Nines stared down at the other Jack-o’-lanterns for a moment.

“It appears so,” sitting himself down next to Gavin in the center of the steps, both men looked up into the dark streets and skies above while hordes of children dressed fully in costumes walked by. Their chipper laughter filled the cold air, and as they danced and skipped along with their parents following closely behind them, a tiny breeze came by. It moved the candles in the pumpkins a little, and the shadows reflected ominously. Still glowing strongly, however, the Jack-o’-lanterns could’ve been seen from a tiny distance as they lit up the dark night more than the streetlights.

Nudging Nines gently with his elbow, Gavin chuckled, “How many Ant Mans, Tony Starks, Batmans, and Spidermans do you think we’ll get tonight?”

Catching on, Nines grinned as he stared straight at the children moving by. “Probably not nearly half as many as Wonder Woman, Black Cat, Harley Quinn, and perhaps the occasional mermaid and princess…”

Laughing heartily, Gavin snorted, “You’re ridiculous, Nines!”

“And you’re insufferable, Reed,” the android joked back, still gazing at the costumes on full display in the wide streets.

When the line of children thinned down a little, Gavin repressed a shiver as the wind blew through his hair. He hadn’t realized just how cold it’d gotten to be in such a short amount of time, but he remembered that November was literally a day away…

Realizing that an odd silence had crept up on them, Gavin looked towards the ghostly figures made out of sheets, the occasional Devil, Witch, or Goblin posted in the ground, in a tree, and the odd few skeletons hanging down limply and spookily from tree branches. He felt it was appropriate to say it now, so he huffed out gently, “Happy Halloween, Nines.”

Immediately turning on him, Nines hissed icily, “Why didn’t you report me to Captain Fowler, Reed?”

“Wha? Oh…” Blushing, he scratched the back of his neck as he supplied randomly, “Because it’d be weird?”

Shaking his head, Nines spat, “Weird in comparison to what I said?”

Gavin rolled his eyes, “Sure…”

“Why?”

“Because we’re supposedly ‘together’, Nines…I mean…” Flinching, he concluded, “I guess that’s how some couples talk to each other? Shit, I don’t know!!”

Pausing for a moment to stare at the new horde of children and their parents running around from brightly lit house to brightly lit house, knocking on doors and ringing the doorbells as their tiny voices cried out in perfect unison: ‘Trick or treat!’, Nines mumbled, “You’re a fool, Reed; I’d have reported my own conduct if I were in your shoes.”

“Well then thank God you’re not,” Gavin snickered mildly, and then he stared down momentarily at Nines’ feet. A twisted frown formed on his face as he said, “Oh, speaking of ‘shoes’, I think we seriously need to get you a new wardrobe, Nines.”

Grunting at him, Nines inquired, “What’s wrong with the one I have?”

“Dude,” Gavin laughed, “you wear clothing from almost five-hundred years ago; plenty wrong with that.”

The next logical question slammed into his ears, “Why do you care, Reed?”

……

Why did he??

Truthfully, Gavin was stumped. It hadn’t really mattered a whole lot to him how Nines had dressed and looked before. When he’d first seen the RK900 dressed fresh out of his CyberLife storage container, he thought nothing of it. Only when Nines had been dubbed ‘Nines’, and only after at least four months of him parading around in the same stupid outfit did Gavin feel the first stirs of annoyance and irritation coiling within himself. Thankfully, Connor had taken it upon himself to try and teach Nines how to dress differently, but the newly deviant Nines at the time unfortunately rooted his personal choice and tastes into older styles of fashion. Beyond that point, no one had really bothered him for his clothing of choice, as he wasn’t seen around the DPD often due to how busy things had gotten, and due to how amazing his skills were.

Well, it was annoying Gavin again, now, and he struggled as he tried not to gape at Nines’ manner of dress. He only concluded to himself that yes, it all had to go, and the sooner, the better.

Unable to offer much of a logical answer, Gavin only shrugged again and rubbed his hands together in a feeble attempt to create some friction and heat.

Eyeing his actions, Nines roughly suggested, “We should head inside; grab your pumpkin.”

Slowly inching towards the one that was his among the mass stacked on the steps, Gavin exclaimed, “Seriously, we should just go shopping some time after work or somethin’. Now that October’s through, a lot of stores will have major sales and shit; we can get a good deal and discount.”

Still not entirely convinced, Nines stood as he waited for Gavin to grab his own pumpkin, and then he made a grab for his own. Glaring at Gavin warily, he inquired, “Why do you care, Reed? You didn’t answer me the first time.”

Again, Gavin was baffled, and as he stared on in bewilderment, he only said the very thing that was a mixture of an insult, a joke, but also a comment in the way of keeping his own thoughts and feelings hidden well away…at least for the time being, until he figured out a way to squash them all and cast them on an island so far away that they wouldn’t trouble him any longer.

With a confident grin, he jabbed, “Well, if you wanna be seen in public with me again-or any human being for that matter, Nines, you should consider dressin’ like us.”

“Cheeky, Reed,” Nines commented, holding open the door for Gavin with one hand as the shorter male headed inside, his candle glowing luminously from within the Jack-o’-lantern. It trailed the orange, yellow light quite nicely, and Nines’ eyes followed it for a moment before they began heading up the stairwell towards Nines’ apartment room.

Tossing him a tiny wink, Gavin announced, “Come on! Startin’ this week, I’ll be your little helper, and I promise we’ll get you something cooler to wear, Nines. How’s that sound?”

“You’re not really going to leave me with much of a choice, Reed,” Nines drawled, “so let’s just say I agree and have a darn good night, shall we?”

“Couldn’t agree more, Nines,” Gavin chuckled as he grinned a toothy, wide grin. “I’m glad you like my ideas.”

Only a sarcastic eye roll came out of the tall android. “Of course, Reed,” he sighed wearily, “I wouldn’t dream of _ever _being so selfish as to suggest doing the things I want when it comes to _my own_ personal life.”

All Gavin could do was laugh a tiny bark of a laugh. “Happy Halloween, Nines.”

“Happy Halloween to you too, Reed.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Halloween, guys🎃


	17. What If?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Anyone ready for goth/punk Nines?

Gavin couldn’t wait for work to end. Today was Tuesday, November 2nd, and he was already as ecstatic as a young child waiting for the pizza delivery man to show up, or waiting eagerly for a toy he’d wanted all month long. And on par with that analogy, Gavin felt that time moved by way too slowly.

During the workday, he’d received a notification on his phone due to being subscribed to and on the mailing list of various clothing stores for men. As he’d estimated, plenty of last-minute sales were occurring this week, but the deadline for majority of them was Friday. Already with his plans bubbling inside his head, he waited until Nines had returned from training a few new recruit officers to target shoot and practice with firearms. Once he’d exited from the shooting range and made his way back across the street towards the DPD, Gavin almost surprised him by leaping out at him from around the corner near the entrance of the main building.

Recovering quickly from his initial state of shock, Nines frowned. “Yes, Reed?”

“Shopping, Nines,” Gavin announced randomly, “I’ve got coupons and discounts, and that’s all you need to know.”

As the doors opened and closed a few times while the rest of their co-workers and colleagues went home for the evening, Nines nodded at them, bid them a good night, and then stared at Gavin until the shorter male felt a tad uncomfortable.

“What?”

“I don’t want to go shopping for clothes, Reed,” Nines stated thinly, backing away from Gavin when the detective advanced.

Not giving up, Gavin sighed, “Well, just accompany me for a bit, then, because I need winter stuff.”

Only mildly convinced, Nines remained stiff, assessing Gavin with cold blue eyes as he finally asked, “Just for you?”

“Yep,” Gavin lied through his teeth with a smile, “just give me your opinion on some winter clothes, and we’ll be done in an hour at the most.”

Closing his eyes in irritation, Nines uttered painfully while his LED light blinked yellow a few times rapidly, “Fine, but you can drive.”

“I was gonna fight ya for the right to do so anyway, Nines,” Gavin snorted, and they were off without much else said.

They checked out the malls nearby, but then when they saw nothing interesting or appealing, Gavin finally drove them to a small clothing outlet mainly for Goth and Punk styled clothing. It’d started raining when they parked in the small parking lot, and the rain was almost at freezing points due to how cold the weather had gotten. As was expected for the erratic and rapidly changing autumn season slowly giving way to winter.

Upon seeing the display of the ripped, torn, tattered, dark clothing with studs, needles, pins, and other odd embellishments through the clean store windows, Nines glared as he refused to take another step despite the ice-cold rain pelting down almost too strongly and loudly.

Holding open the door for him, Gavin paused when he saw the reluctance evident in Nines’ eyes and in his body posture. “What’s wrong?”

“I’m not going in there,” Nines hissed, “it’s tasteless.”

“It’s for _me_, remember?” Gavin chuckled as he danced in the doorway of the shop, “Come onnnn, Niiiiineeessss.”

“No.”

A cold breeze blew by, and this time, Gavin began dancing to keep warm as rainwater blew in his face. Feeling his blood freezing slowly in his veins, he pouted as he cried out, “Dude, I’m seriously freezin’ my ass off. Please, let’s just get inside.”

Staring at the aberrant clothes, Nines lifted his head plaintively. “That’s precisely my point, Reed,” nodding at the thin fabric displayed, he explained, “that’s thin enough to hang over a window; not on a human being’s body.”

Staring at the clothes, Gavin shrugged, “But I like them, and besides,” he pointed out gently, “there’s different varieties of shit in here. Let’s check it out!”

“You can go ahead,” Nines griped, “I’m not going to follow you this time.”

Whining like a petulant, bratty child, Gavin threw his head back and let out an elongated groan.

Wincing, Nines hissed, “Don’t make that nauseating sound ever again, Reed, and you can—”

“S’cuse me,” they’d been interrupted when two large, heavyset men with long hair and beards exited the store by Gavin. Their bodies were so round and large, that the detective had to leap back to make way for them. They wore thick leather jackets and heavy, thick boots. Mounting their shiny Harley Davidson motorcycles, they drove off in loud bursts of smoke and gasoline rising into the air in tufts of smoke.

Once they were gone, Nines glared at Gavin. “See?!” he cried out vehemently, “I can tell from the clientele in this store just what kinds of fashion caters to what types of people!!”

Gavin didn’t dignify the snide remark with a response. He only knew that his clothes were steadily becoming drenched, and he couldn’t have that. Instead, he headed inside the store as he snorted over his shoulder, “Whatever, dude, but I’m freezing my ass off, so if you wanna keep arguin’, then you’re gonna have to do it inside here, Nines.”

Muttering under his breath, Nines stewed, but otherwise remained non-argumentative as he allowed Gavin to walk around the store. Following Gavin inside, Nines began eyeing plenty of signs and stickers letting customers know that a lot of clothes were 50% off regular price before the new season’s brands flocked in.

The store’s walls were painted deep blue, and a lot of the models and mannequins were dressed already in winter wear. At least six dressing rooms lined up along the back in a horizontal row, and shelves containing scarves, gloves, boots, sunglasses, and other accessories sat near the fitting rooms.

Gavin wandered about, already peeking at a pair of casual straight leg pants, the two colors he’d been currently having difficult picking between being black and grey.

Holding them out before Nines, he stated, “They look warm!”

“Hmm,” Nines hummed, “passable, I’d say.”

“What color should I get?”

“Make up your own mind, Detective,” Nines snapped irritably, “I want to get out of here quickly, so just grab whatever’s thicker than only one finger!”

“Yeah, yeah,” Gavin sighed, but then stared up at a tall mannequin on top of a circular stand. Next to the stand was a round table stacked with the clothes the mannequin had been wearing, and Gavin suddenly imagined Nines wearing the exact clothes. It would look damn good on him too, the detective figured. Since the mannequin had long legs and a masculine-in shape figure almost like Nines’, Gavin thought it would be a perfect fit.

But how to get Nines to even wear it?! There was no way the android would ever do that, especially considering how the pants were directly labeled: **PUNK Fashion Men’s Trousers Pants Removable Stage Gothic Pencil Cotton Pants.**

Yep…that was going to be a tough one.

Pretending to be interested in a pair of black Drawstring waist pants, Gavin picked them up, casually holding them down over his lower torso while humming. Actually…these weren’t that bad…

“Got what you came for then, Reed?” Nines drawled on, standing eerily close to the mannequin while Gavin nodded.

Glancing up with a small smile, he answered coyly, “Yeah, I mean, I may get one or two more things, but I was wonderin’ something, Nines…”

Catching on relatively quickly, Nines hissed, “Whatever the hell it is, I’m not interested.”

Skipping past doing this the ‘easy’ way now that his cover had been unceremoniously blown, Gavin grabbed one of the pants up right away. “Come on, Nines,” he laughed, “I’m seriously just curious.”

Fighting, Nines hissed cruelly, “Go away, Reed, and put that silly thing down.”

“Pleeeeeaaaseee? Just try one?”

“Never!!”

“It’ll look so good on you, Nines, I swear!!!”

A delicate eyebrow rose up gracefully. “Oh really, Reed?” Nines cooed in mild amusement, “then who was it-as I recall-who uttered these words?” Tilting his head, he opened his mouth and said, “Just give me your opinion on some winter clothes, and we’ll be done in an hour at the most.” Clearing his throat softly and unnoticeably, he imitated Gavin word-for-word, an impeccable mockery and with 100% accuracy.

Waving a finger in his face defensively, a wide-eyed Gavin hissed, “I told you to stop doin’ that, Nines! It’s freaky as fuck hearin’ my voice comin’ out of your damn mouth!!” Tapping a hand on his leg, he encouraged gently, “Now come on and just try this on, because I think you’ll rock this look.”

Although he’d tried to tell Gavin that he didn’t care for his opinions, once he’d heard them voiced aloud, Nines ceased putting up a fight. He’d actually never really been on the receiving end of such comments from many people, especially Gavin Reed. The words pulled him in, sweetly seducing his curiosity. Would they _really_ look that good??

Reaching out to touch the pants, Nines thought they really looked odd. They weren’t as thin as he initially suspected, which surprised him, but he was a tad put off by the silver studs, belt buckles running down towards the calves, wrapped around parts and portions of the leggings, the rips and tears running along the legs, as well as the silver holes in the belt straps and strap that held and kept the diagonally angled curtain like skirt hanging off to the side up.

Why did humans wear such bizarre things?!

Still not desiring to put it on, he sneered at Gavin as he spat, “You wear it.”

“Nooo, Nines,” Gavin chortled as he waved the pants towards the fitting rooms, “they wouldn’t fit me, and they’re designed for people who have legs that go on for miles.”

“You—”

Pushing him gently towards the fitting rooms, Gavin assured him softly in a faint whisper, “I’ll also be tryin’ on the shit I picked up, so you’re not alone, okay?” Motioning over at one of the young men operating the store, he held up two fingers, indicating they needed two separate rooms. The pimply-faced youth nodded, walking over so slowly as he unlocked two fitting room doors and stepped away so Gavin and Nines could head inside.

Hanging onto the doorway of one of the open doors, Nines looked at Gavin in mild panic. “This isn’t a good idea, Reed,” he stated his opinion while Gavin picked up a discarded multi-zip pockets zip up Cargo light brown jacket and decided he wanted to try them on.

Staring down at his pants, Nines almost whined, “Just this one?”

Blinking once, Gavin said, “I promise; just that one.”

…..

“Fine, Reed.”

As the door to Nines’ fitting room slammed and locked hurriedly, Gavin heard the android moving and shifting about. Good. That meant he was going to try the pants on, and Gavin soon got into the changing room next to Nines’. In no time at all, he’d tried the multi-zip up cargo jacket, the black Drawstring waist pants, as well as the grey casual straight leg pants.

They all fit, and Gavin liked them as he saw his own reflection in the mirror hoisted on the wall within the changing room displaying each style. Once he redressed in his regular clothes, he checked the prices of the clothing he wanted to purchase, and he nearly fainted.

They were pricey.

His wallet was going to have a hole in it soon, and he had to wonder for a moment why he was spending money he didn’t have on such things in the first place. Wasn’t the whole point of this to try and get some damn money from his deceased dad so he could _later_ spend all that money on crap like this?!

He had it all backwards, it seemed.

Tapping the connecting wall next to Nines’ stall, he cried out, “Nines? You done?”

After a brief pause, a door opened and closed, and Nines answered, “Reed, come out here for a moment.”

“O-okay,” unlocking the door, he hadn’t even taken two steps out into the hall containing the fitting rooms when he saw Nines standing before a large mirror.

Wow...Gavin had been right; Nines looked absolutely amazing dressed in the punk getup.

As the android stared at himself in silence for a while, Gavin slowly circled him. He was wearing a dark undershirt overtop of the pants, which seemed a tad off together with the bottoms, but his lower torso was amazing to look at.

Whistling, Gavin affirmed, “You look better in that than the mannequin did, Nines.”

“I doubt that, Reed,” Nines groused as he eyed himself wearily. “I don’t know about this one…”

“I like it,” Gavin interjected with his own personal opinion, “it sits nicely on you, and damn,” he laughed as he pointed at how wonderfully long and thin Nines’ legs showed off in the pants, “way to make me feel extra short.”

Nines didn’t comment, and as he stared and stared at himself in the mirror, Gavin sighed. “If you want, we can look for something else, maybe a different color, or—”

“I prefer black, Reed,” Nines interrupted, and with a small smile and a blue LED light, he purred, “I have to admit, this is really growing on me…I like it…” He hadn’t been faking it for the sake of being polite; Nines turned around and stared at the pants from every angle, laughed, and then repeated with vigor, “I really like them, Reed! It’s new, it’s unique, and it may not be ‘me’, but I want to try something new.”

Gavin couldn’t stop the smile that had grown on his face, and it grew wider and wider as Nines walked and paced around the mirror a few times. The way the little buckles and straps shifted and made light noises as he walked only added a nicer effect to how he looked. These pants seemed to be made for Nines, and Gavin felt a little envious as he stared at the android. Gone was the sour, bland look that Nines often wore. Gone was the execrable snort and jeer, all replaced by genuine looks of zeal and rapture.

“Alright, stop showin’ off,” he mildly joked as he held open Nines’ door, “wanna get ‘em?”

Nines didn’t even hesitate, “You can count on that, Reed, and if you don’t mind, I’d like to take another look around this place; it’s not nearly as bad as I originally thought.”

Gavin was all smiles as he waited for Nines to take off the pants, and the excited android soon did as he stepped out and insisted upon carrying the clothing with himself. Gavin didn’t mind, and as the pair separated to have another look around the store, Gavin discovered that Nines had really been superbly excited about his new choice in clothing style…perhaps too much, actually.

Being excited about something new wasn’t of course a bad thing in and of itself, but it seemed that Nines had already taken it to an extreme of sorts. In less than ten minutes after they’d dispersed around the store, Nines decided he was going to be buying a pair of anything remotely gothic and punkish in terms of shirts and pants. He settled for Black Swamp trousers featuring distress and erratic patterned paint details, zips, and patches running down the legs. After that, he picked up a single men’s fitted black shirt in poplin with chrome snap fasteners. Large cuff details, poplin epaulettes and two front pockets were what Gavin saw on the shirt, but that didn’t seem to be enough for Nines.

Eventually, he also grabbed a coat, and it sat well down to the middle of his thighs as he tried it on. The breathtaking Vincent Coat seemed to be inspired by classic military styles with large epaulets and double-breasted button detailing all over it. It looked elegant on Nines, and Gavin wondered how Nines was simultaneously pulling off both a Victorian gothic look, as well as a modern day cyber punk look.

Nines soon shifted through some boots, but he couldn’t settle on ones he liked. Almost like a child about to have some kind of an emotional fit, he whispered heatedly to Gavin, “Is that all the boots they have here?”

Snickering shrewdly as envy grew within himself, Gavin snidely answered, “You can order some shit you like online, you know.”

Nodding while his eyes were still going through the array of boots, Nines agreed, “You’re right. Are we leaving, now?”

Looking at the darkening skies outside, Gavin spat, “Umm, yeah, the store closes around eight, and it’s already half-past seven.”

“Fair enough,” Nines grabbed the rest of their items, and led the way towards the cashiers.

Gavin watched as Nines placed the clothes up onto the counter, and as he did, the shorter male snorted, “I hope I won’t have a stroke from the terrifying bill we’re about to receive.”

Nines didn’t say anything as the cashier scanned the items and placed them all into bags. Once he was done with that, while he played with his eyebrow ring, he announced, “Your total today is $483.79 plus tax.”

Gavin grew pale, and he was already thinking about throwing half the items away. Meekly, he offered, “Umm, I have coupons…” After he showed them to the cashier, the man changed the receipt abruptly.

Coughing, he corrected himself, “Sorry, so it comes to like, $402.88 plus tax.”

That wasn’t exactly a better deal…

Frowning, Gavin softly asked, “Umm, may I know why it’s so expensive?”

With a lazy look in his eyes, the young cashier explained, “The punk designer clothes are from the UK, sir, so a lot of the prices are just to cover shipping and handling.”

Right…

Cursing Nines straight to hell for choosing _now_ of all times to explore and play around with his sense of style and fashion, Gavin looked a little crestfallen as he reached into his wallet for his credit card. “I’ll pay,” he obviously didn’t need to say, but he did.

However, as he’d been about to draw out his card, he felt a hand on his own, and he glanced up in shock. “Nines?”

A warm, friendly smile met his concerned eyes. “I’ll take care of that for today, Reed,” Nines offered, LED light flashing yellow as he turned to the cashier. “Can I pay electronically?”

The young man snapped up to attention, “Oh yeah!” Pushing the hand-pad, digital machine up to Nines, he announced, “We take android payments too, sir.”

“Nines, wait—”

Gavin had been stopped when Nines threw him a warm smile. All thoughts and words died down, and Gavin was reduced to a pile of stuttering and gaping silence. He didn’t want to allow Nines to do this, but the incessant, importunate android insisted upon it and wouldn’t have it any other way, it seemed.

Once he’d connected to the tiny machine, Nines spoke softly to Gavin, “Some gifts should just be accepted with gratitude openly, Reed.”

Shaking his head, Gavin mumbled as the cashier put their clothes away in a large paper carrier bag, “I could’ve handled it myself.”

“Nonsense,” Nines purred out, “look, if you want, you can treat me to something next time, yeah?”

Well…to be fair, Gavin needed the clothes badly, and he wasn’t exactly swimming in riches, he reminded himself. Yes. So why not? To hell with it!! If Nines was offering, he’d take whatever he could give!!

He somehow felt better already when they left the shop that evening.

~ѰѰѰѰѰ~

Nines didn’t wear his new outfits to work, wisely so. Not that androids couldn’t technically wear new clothing if they wanted to, but the more ‘creative wear’ had been meant for Fridays, only. It made sense given the line of work they did, but Gavin had never known Nines to not dress professionally. He always abided by a dress code of sorts, and he didn’t seem to want to even break that on Fridays. No, it seemed that the DPD wasn’t ready to see ‘punk Nines’, and the android didn’t even share with Connor and Hank that he’d recently purchased new clothes.

Oh well. It was something rather private, Gavin supposed, and while he didn’t spend a lot of time around Nines in the following week due to being busy, he often found himself wondering whether Nines ever wore the new outfits or not.

The next week seemed to first come in at a snail’s pace, but then picked up. Gavin-like everyone else in the DPD-had become overwhelmed with cases and reports, and the only time he actually sat down and noticed what day it was happened to be on Thursday, November 10th. Time was flying, which sucked, but the good news was that it still hadn’t snowed…yet. Gavin had seen a few moments of flurries and light freezing rain which had thankfully melted by later afternoon, but beyond that, he couldn’t exactly complain when they were blessed with good weather still.

His ‘relationship’ with Nines however…well, Gavin felt that at best, it was civil, but not too much closer since their shopping trip. Nines didn’t invite him over, and Gavin didn’t want to hang out with the tall, estranged android. They slept in their own separate apartments, and it remained that way right until the beginning of the second week of November.

On Monday, November 14th, as everyone had been going through the quotidian, rudimentary duties in the DPD, that was when Detroit City had been gifted with the first heavy snowfall. The heaps of the cold, white stuff kissed the entire streets and land majestically, as if making up for a decent and passive autumn and early November month. Thankfully, there wasn’t much of a strong wind, and the snow just fell from the grey clouds above almost peacefully. Still, everyone worked quietly, steadfastly trying to submit their statistical reports required before the month was through, or wrapping up other cases and leads they may have had.

Although Gavin Reed was no exception to that, the detective couldn’t help but slip into a tiny form of sullen thoughts and feelings as he grew weary of the perpetual tasks one Thursday afternoon. The brusque and impatient detective muttered random and odd nonsense under his breath as he took a break from his work…a much-needed break.

He realized just how badly he was starting to overwork himself, but it couldn’t really be helped; crime always boomed in North America in the winter months, and it sky-rocketed during Christmas. This consistent pattern sometimes made Gavin hate Christmas, but rather than dwelling upon that for now, he cast his pessimistic thoughts aside and did what he assumed at least ten other people were doing right now: checking their social media accounts.

As long as he wasn’t caught, he supposed he could get away with it, anyway, so he launched up his Instagram immediately.

“Why do I even have this thing again?” he asked himself glumly with an edge of bite lingering on the last word as he sifted through all of maybe seven photos he’d taken…over the course of five years.

No wonder he had no followers…

Closing the app angrily, Gavin resorted to checking his Facebook, next. To his surprise, he found that he had a friend request, and a new message awaiting him…as well as at least sixty notifications?!?! WHAT THE FUCK!?!?

Tapping his finger on the notifications to highlight them and see what they were about, he saw that they all fell under two consistent things: People liking a photo he was tagged in, and people commenting on a photo he was tagged in…

Immediately, Gavin’s interest fired up, and he was off to see what this damn photo was. He had to know.

His phone lagged for a moment, and it seemed as though all odds were against him for some bizarre reason, now. Feeling his anger and irritation increasing by the second, Gavin refreshed the page, chewing and biting on his lower lip as he waited…

The photo was loading…loading…

And suddenly, it was there before his eyes.

Gavin knew these photos…he could recognize them anywhere…there were two of them, of course, and he’d been responsible for taking them…

It was the two selfies he’d taken with Nines sitting there openly for people on Facebook to see. But how had they gotten there?!?! Last time Gavin checked, Nines didn’t exactly have a Facebook account, and he himself hadn’t been drunk off his ass enough to upload these!!! He would never!!!

But sure as day, he was tagged in the photo, and he let his fingers hover around the tag.

Wait…

Tagged by Carrie Moser…

FUCK!

“You bitch…you god damn bitch,” Gavin wheezed out like a man on the brink of having a heart attack, and as he looked at the sixty comments just lined down beneath the photo, he recognized majority of these people as his mother’s friends, distant relatives, some of her co-workers and other professors in the University, as well as other friends of Gavin’s…as such, anyone who was friends with both Carrie and Gavin would be able to see and access these photos.

She’d done this on purpose, and there was no denying it. Gavin knew his mother’s games relatively well by now, and she’d had her own Facebook account for almost an entire decade and a half now to understand how the basics of Facebook worked. This wasn’t a fucking accident by any stretch of the imagination; she’d done this with the full intent that the onerous aftermath would be so explosive.

And explosive, it was.

She’d tagged the photos as: **My son and his fiancé! Wish them well, I’m so very thrilled and proud of them both! Love you, Gavin!!**

Of course, a lot of people fell into the trap of social niceties and politeness, wishing him well, asking when the wedding would occur, telling him he looked lovely, his fiancé was handsome, that they made a wonderful pair, and that they deserved all the best in the foreseeable future.

All the happiness…well, he wasn’t happy at all!!!

Staring up at the little red colored notification in his private inbox, he hurriedly tapped it to open it, thinking it was perhaps another petty thing his mother had pieced together. Oh, how she opted for being quite the byronic character at times…

He rasped as his eyes told him what his mind had difficulty accepting for the longest time. It hadn’t been Carrie Moser who’d messaged him.

Right there sitting in Gavin’s inbox was a message request from Marsha Field, one of his many ex-girlfriends from high school.

Had she also sent the friend request?

Checking it swiftly, Gavin confirmed that yes, she had, and he knew right then and there what kind of hot water he was in.

Seething, he spat at the screen, “Thanks, mom. Just what I fuckin’ needed.”

* * *

The pants Nines tried on in the store. It's a legit design I based his clothes off of!!! The pants look cool. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Good one, Carrie. *Not*.


	18. Destiny’s Turn

Marsha Field was fucking crazy. Well, technically, Gavin considered that majority of his exes were, but Marsha seriously took the fucking cake. For one, he’d dated her barely all of two months, and she was the only girlfriend he’d never been intimate with. As if that mattered at all, however.

Marsha had come off as a very intellectual, cool girl back when Gavin first saw her in his grade eleven class. Long blonde hair with gentle, round brown eyes, she looked like a doll with all her petite, dainty features. She was late registering into his high school, but she fit right in with a large group of girls in no time at all. Both studious and absolutely sexy, Marsha soon got involved in a lot of extra-curricular activities as well as school-related ones. Head of the girls’ varsity volleyball team, top singer in the school choir, and top cheerleader of the month, everyone soon loved Marsha. Guys drooled over her wherever she went, girls envied her and tried to be like her, and she was quite popular in no time and without much of an effort.

Naturally, Gavin-at his young age back then as a teenager-was awestruck. His budding sexuality paired with curiosity evoked him to slowly approach Marsha on the basis of just being a friend. However, the bright young girl soon was rather forthcoming for her age, and she was the first to confess that she had strong feelings for Gavin.

They made quite the couple back then, and for the first few weeks, Gavin thought he seriously was going to end up remaining high school sweethearts with Marsha and possibly marrying her in the near future.

But of course, youthful innocence and Gavin’s natural propensity for compartmentalizing people had been what backfired, but it hadn’t been what eventually helped him realize that there was something ‘off’ about Marsha. As young as he was, he wasn’t stupid, and he could tell that all wasn’t right when he asked her one day if he could go over to a friend’s to just hang out and play video games. Well, that friend happened to be a girl, of course, and Marsha freaked out all of a sudden. In less than a second, the image of the sweet, wonderful, sexy girl he’d been dating came to a halt, and in its place was a raging, seething, vitriolic young woman already accusing Gavin of cheating on her with this friend.

The video game plans were cancelled, and Gavin held her to his chest all evening trying to calm her down. Marsha had sobbed out to him and promised that she wouldn’t repeat that ever again, and such an incident never would occur. Foolishly, Gavin believed her, wanting to give their love another shot and genuinely wanting to make it work out. He knew that all couples fought and had their personal struggles, of course, as he’d seen plenty of it coming from his parents before his father left. Vowing to be more patient with Marsha, he stopped hanging out with his friends altogether.

Well, that wasn’t nearly enough for Marsha. When Gavin gave her an inch, she wanted to take the extra damn mile. Soon, another side to Marsha revealed itself. She became greedy, controlling, and she invaded almost _all_ areas of Gavin’s life.

Trying to mold and shape him to the perfect visage of the perfect, most ideal man for herself, she often berated him that his grades were too low, that he didn’t study hard enough, and if he ever was going to introduce himself to her father, he had to pick up the slack. Her verbal tirade was never-ending, it seemed, and very soon, Gavin grew weary of it. It didn’t matter how beautiful her body was, and it didn’t matter how much he wanted to sleep with her. No amount of verbal abuse and degradation was worth putting up with for _anyone_.

He’d broken things off with her over the phone, mainly due to worrying that she was going to scream and cry at him all day long, but that still came to haunt Gavin.

Marsha had reacted, alright. Threatening suicide and the like, she sent him at least a hundred texts the very same day he cut her out of his life, and from that day on, she sent at least a hundred _every day_.

The torment and torture didn’t end there, however. Although he’d blocked her number, Marsha wasn’t going to allow that to stop her, it seemed.

Since she’d already been to Gavin’s house numerous times, and since Gavin’s mother actually liked her, she allowed Marsha to come by the house. Gavin relayed to his mother that Marsha had threatened to harm and kill herself, but of course, adults hardly believed kids. His mother-due to being so busy at the time as she worked on publishing her second thesis dissertation-waved him off and told him to be a man and deal with his own problems.

So he did.

The next time Marsha saw him, Gavin knew she was in a sense ‘stalking’ him. They never had classes together during the second semester of school, thankfully, and that was quite the relief to Gavin. Too bad it was short-lived, however…

Very soon, Marsha took it upon herself to switch into _all_ of Gavin’s classes. She’d spent majority of the classes trying to get Gavin’s attention, throwing licentious looks his way, and just being a complete obnoxious nuisance. She was a thorn in his side, and Gavin really started hating her.

One day after class, when he saw her standing near his locker, he shouted at her in front of everyone for her to leave him alone and to stop stalking him. Sending her into a rage at once, Gavin had ‘outed’ her, and a lot of his friends backed him up as they encouraged him to do whatever he could to get away from her. They didn’t need to even encourage him; it was as natural as breathing to be free of Marsha Field.

That had been the most terrifying experience of Gavin’s life, and from that experience, he’d learned a lot, and thankfully, no other woman he dated had been nearly as messed up in the head as Marsha. Having accrued more experience afterwards, things had been fine for a long, long time…until recently, anyway.

What did Marsha want, now?!

As his mind span and swam over the possibilities, Gavin felt sick and queasy just thinking about it. Thinking and obsessing wouldn’t get him anywhere, however; reading her message would. Reading the damn thing would expel all sources of doubt, all confusion, muck, as well as imaginative thoughts he could conjure up for himself.

Bracing himself, Gavin opened the message, and he yanked his phone so closely to his face, that his nose practically kissed the cold screen as a result. He read over her initial greeting a few times until her words really sank into his head.

**Marsha Driver: Gavin!!! Hey!!! Do you remember me??? It’s been so long!!!**

Did he—did he remember?!?! Of course he did!!!!

…..

But why was her last name different, and why did she look different?!

Deciding to take a little trip to her profile page, Gavin saw it load up quickly. Her cover photo was of herself, a man, as well as a young boy aged no more than three or four years old at the most. As he squinted seriously at the photo, Gavin concluded that yes, this was indeed Marsha Field, and she was married. He didn’t need to stare for long at the glowing wedding band on her finger as she cradled the boy to her chest and had her arms around him in the shot; simply staring down and seeing it written blatantly on her profile.

There, her little biography of sorts sat open for all to see.

**Marsha Driver**  
**From: Loomis, California**  
**Joined on: December 2012**  
**Went to College of Nursing - Wayne State University**  
**Married to Charles Driver**

So there it was, then. A married woman was messaging him. No! A married _ex-girlfriend_ was messaging him!!! Not that that was a crime in and of itself, really, but Gavin somehow suspected that there was more to this than met the eye.

With his ‘detective cap’ on, he searched through a few of her photos, and he noticed that she’d not only grown her hair out longer to the point that it practically touched her ass, but she’d dyed it raven black, as well. In high school, Marsha Field had soft, blonde hair that Gavin often enjoyed looking at and running his fingers through. But now? It was a raven’s nest, swooping down to the floor in a few shots, practically.

Charles Driver’s profile was searched next, but it held significantly less photos than Marsha’s did. Charles was a middle-aged man with pure blonde hair, and it was clean-cut in comparison to his wife’s broom of wild hair. Their son was apparently named Nathan, and he had his father’s blonde hair, and his mother’s deep brown eyes.

As Gavin looked back through all of Marsha’s photos, he whispered to himself, “Can’t ever get rid of crazy, can ya?”

Deleting Marsha’s friend request, he’d been on the verge of blocking her, too, when something occurred to him. Slamming into him like a train, the thought screamed out at him like a damn siren, and he couldn’t ignore it.

His mother really had liked Marsha a lot back then, and since his own mother had tagged the photo and Marsha had commented on it, Gavin knew that Marsha and his mother were Facebook friends.

Quickly confirming it when he revisited Marsha’s profile, he saw that yes, their friend in mutual was in fact Carrie Moser.

This was a problem, as well as a God-sent gift. Gavin knew that if he blocked Marsha, there was a chance she would run off and prattle to his mother. After all, the two were as thick as thieves, and he wouldn’t put it past his own mother to even rope Marsha along into such a weird scheme. They both had nothing better to do, after all.

On the other hand, he could use this to his advantage and show off the fact that he was in a relationship, thus making it all more authentic, and thus increasing the chances that his mother would relent and believe the chicanery.

He knew what to do.

Messaging his ex-girlfriend leisurely, he wrote out just a basic: **hey, ya, I remember u, Marsha. How’s it going?**

As Gavin made for a quick washroom break and then grabbed some coffee on the way back to his desk, Marsha had read the message, and replied back.

**It’s going well, Gavin!! I can’t believe you’re engaged, though!! CONGRATULATIONS!!! **

If he could only tell her just how much his eyes hurt from looking at the capitalized letters and all the exclamation marks…

Sitting back down at his desk, he wrote to her: **well ur married, so congrats 2 u 2.**

Now, the conversation picked up speed.

**Marsha Driver: Been married for almost six years!!**

**Gavin Reed: Nice. Saw u hve a son. how old is he?**

**Marsha Driver: He’ll be five in the summer! **

**Gavin Reed: cool. **

**Marsha Driver: Enough about meeee though!!! Tell me about your future hubbyyyy!!!!**

It was at this point in the conversation that Gavin truly couldn’t help but be majorly annoyed _and_ suspicious. Marsha was asking a lot for being someone he hadn’t spoken to or seen since high school.

As if she could sense his apprehension over the internet, she hurriedly added on to the conversation with: **Hey, I understand if this is all so soooo sudden, but I wanted to say that I’m really happy for you, Gavin. You look genuinely happy with your fiancé, and that makes me happy in turn!!**

“Sure it does,” he responded to her out loud in a faint whisper, but then texted: **thnx, ur nice.**

Cringing at his bland, almost childish reply, he sat awkwardly for a moment. There was now a lull in the conversation, it seemed. Maybe she’d run out of things to say, and Gavin was grateful for that, if it indeed happened to be the case. Perhaps he’d jumped to conclusions far too quickly, and perhaps she was just curious as opposed to wanting to dig in deeper.

Shrugging it all off, he’d barely placed his phone back in his jean pocket when it vibrated.

Shit.

Making sure Fowler wasn’t anywhere nearby, Gavin kept his head and neck craned down as he continued reading what Marsha was sending…there was a litany of shit, it seemed.

**Marsha Driver: Let’s meet up some time, Gavin!!! I know that sounds weird, but I would like to meet your fiancé, and I’m sure you want to meet my husband!!!**

He really didn’t, and he was already thinking of declining her offer when she kept on sending bullshit nonstop.

**Marsha Driver: We can go to a new restaurant that just opened up a few months ago near my house right in the heart of Detroit if you want! Charles and I usually go a lot on Fridays because they have excellent ribs and steaks!!! You’ll loooooooove it!!!!**

This time, he couldn’t hold back on his reply.

**No thanks, Marsha. **

**Marsha Driver: Plllllleeeeeeeeaaasseeee Gavin??? It’ll be fun!! I sweaaarrr!!! I have already planned some cool activities for us, and it’ll be our treat! **

He frowned as he sent: **Your treat?**

**Marsha Driver: Yeah! Totally!! Charles and I will pay! Your job and your fiancé’s job is to have fun!! **

Well, he was convinced. Wherever and whenever free food was offered on the table, Gavin Reed was sure to follow, and he found he couldn’t argue with this right now.

Still a tad suspicious, he replied cautiously: **Ok, ill ask Nines then. is this gonan be this Fri?**

**Marsha Driver: Nines?? Is that his name? Oh my goodness!!! Of course it’s his name!!!!! I forgot he is an android!!!!! LOOOOOOOOOL!**

Slapping himself for making that slip, Gavin clenched and ground his teeth together as he struggled with what to say. Eventually, he settled angrily for: **haha yah…hs an android…so is it this Friday??**

Praying that Marsha would just end his suffering and misery by responding in kind, he sat back and propped his feet up on his desk; classic Reed comfort position achieved effortlessly.

**Marsha Driver: Totally!! I hope it’s not short notice!!!**

**Gavin Reed: well its just a day away, so meh. **

**Marsha Driver: Awesomeeee!!! Charles will be delighted to knowww!! I’ll message you soon to double check if you’re good to go!!! Looking forward to it, Gavin!!!**

He wasn’t.

**Gavin Reed: k…ttyl**

**Marsha Driver: Byyyyyyyeeeeee!**

Setting his phone down, Gavin sighed painfully to himself, “Shoot me now…”

A deep voice suddenly rasped behind him, “I’ll follow in line with that, Reed.”

~ѰѰѰѰѰ~

Of course it had to be Nines who’d stood behind him and read his entire conversation history.

Nearly yanking all his hairs right out of his scalp from the roots in sheer frustration, Gavin practically spun off his chair as he glared up at Nines. Suddenly feeling rather mawkish from being caught, he coughed out, “Nines?? You read a-all that?”

A sneer was his reply from the darkly clad android looming and towering over him. “Unfortunately,” Nines hissed thinly, “I’m all caught up, I’m pleased to report, and considering your clipped replies to this woman, I don’t think I’ll be able to understand why she reached out to you, Reed…” Staring intently at the phone, Nines continued, “…You deleted her friend request, which would entail that you don’t want to have anything to do with this woman.”

Barely managing a nod, Gavin felt his mouth drying up as Nines pressed on.

“Given that, why did you agree to meeting with she and her husband, then?”

Pinned on the spot, Gavin decided to come clean. After all, it was usually easier that way.

“She was someone I dated very briefly in high school,” he answered as he explained fully, “it didn’t end well, of course, and she was freakin’ nuts for a long time, but she seems fine now.”

Keeping on with the interrogation, Nines inquired, “How did she find you?”

“My mom’s Facebook photo,” Gavin began, turning beet red in the face as he remembered it all instantly, “she uh…she tagged me in the photos we took together.”

Almost explosively, Nines roared, “You mean she uploaded those on Facebook?!”

“Yeah…” he couldn’t believe the meek voice belonged to himself.

Reeling, Nines’ LED light flashed red as he muttered to himself, “I’ve come across some odd people, Reed, but I think your mother is by far the most mysterious and bizarre.” Shaking his head, he continued, “Uploading a photo like this, for which purpose from this day onward until the end of time I still cannot and will not be able to fathom!!”

Holding his hands out, Gavin nodded, “Look, I know it’s a shitty thing, but now that Marsha’s involved in this, I don’t think I can really talk my way out.”

Glaring, Nines spat, “Oh yes you can, Reed!” Reaching for the phone, he coldly instructed, “Block her, delete her, and move on with your life; you’re making this a bigger issue than it needs to be.”

“No!” Gavin cried angrily, swiping his phone clean out of Nines’ hands. As a result of the wild display of animosity, a lot of people were staring…

Unable to take this, Gavin grabbed a vacant seat and ordered Nines to sit on it. Refusing to, the tall android backed away, but then stopped when Gavin growled, “I won’t talk to you unless you sit the hell down, Nines.”

This did well in eliciting more sputtered cursing, but Nines finally sat still as he folded his arms over his chest and hissed, “Explain yourself.”

Calmly, Gavin held his hands together clasped tightly and firmly. Perhaps it was a means of getting and remaining calm…

“Look, Nines,” he began as gently as he could, aware that eyes were still on them, which was why he tried to hurry. “I would love more than anything else in this damn world to block Marsha forever, but I can’t because she’s literally my mom’s best friend.”

A knowing look was instantly in Nines’ eyes. With a strained sigh, he slowly stood up as he grunted, “Coffin’s sealed; we have to go to this stupid dinner thing, huh?”

“You’d be right…sadly.”

Remembering what Carrie had said about the authenticity of their ‘relationship’, Nines was immediately torn between helping Gavin, and abandoning him. His ‘helpful’ nature conflicted and battled with his ‘selfish’ one, but very soon, as he stared intently at Gavin, he found the helpful side of himself won over.

Damn.

Bending down quickly, Nines whispered scathingly, “Did I ever tell you that I don’t really like your mother, Reed?”

Rolling his eyes, Gavin rasped in pure exasperation, “You’re lucky you’re not related to her.”

“I think I’d rather be shot, to be honest with you, Reed.”

For once, he genuinely found himself agreeing with the RK900.

“Likewise, man, likewise.”


	19. Root Cause

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Since some people asked and wanted to know for their imagination how Nines would look like in his clothes, I have linked actual sites containing photos of what I based Nines' clothes on.  
Boots: https://www.rebelsmarket.com/products/bolt-mid-calf-lace-up-combat-boots-with-chain-188015?tuid=caefba03b9d0623d9  
Trench Coat: https://www.rivithead.com/coats/trench/minos-highwayman-coat.html  
Nines' black pants: https://www.thedarkstore.com/en/males-pants/865-4255-black-swamp-decadent-pants.html  
And his shirt: https://www.darkincloset.com/men/3716-devil-fashion-black-gothic-punk-long-sleeve-t-shirt-for-men.html

Friday evening had Gavin back in Nines’ apartment. Due to how cold the weather had gotten, Gavin was already wearing the thick multi-zip up cargo jacket over a black, long-sleeve shirt. He wore dark grey jeans beneath all that, and as he stood waiting outside Nines’ partly closed bedroom door, he wondered what the android would wear to the dinner outing.

Luckily, Nines wasn’t burdened by the cold, and Gavin assumed he would be wearing the items he’d purchased, no doubt.

Of course, his detective powers for once had failed him; he was wrong!!

As soon as Nines stepped out into the hall, Gavin found him to be wearing a black suit and a red tie. Oh, this wouldn’t do. Apparently, Nines was still too shy to dress in his new getup, and it seemed to annoy Gavin for reasons unknown.

Eyeing his distaste, Nines croaked, “What’s wrong? No good?”

“Dude,” Gavin coughed, “you spent over three-hundred god damn American dollars on yourself, and you’re gonna wear _that_ shit, still???” Disapproval evident and impossible to hide, Gavin shook his head as he tried gazing past Nines’ broad, wide shoulders and into his bedroom.

Eyes shifting in mild discomfort, Nines weakly supplied, “I was trying to make a good impression, Reed, why are you berating me for it?”

Ignoring his question, Gavin nodded over inside his room, “Move aside for a moment so I can check what you have.”

Again, Nines seemed nervous, and as his LED light reflected that by switching from blue to yellow, he wheezed, “Why?”

“Because,” Gavin hissed, “I know you bought more shit since we went shopping last time.”

Thrown off by this assertion, Nines aggressively growled out, “You couldn’t possibly know that, Reed, unless you—hey!!”

Using the minor distraction to his advantage, Gavin pushed past Nines swiftly and entered his room. Turning left closer to the wall, he slid open Nines’ closet doors and saw just how many new things he’d purchased. Apparently, the RK900 had been quite the busy little bee…

A long, dark Minos Men’s Highwayman Coat with an over-sized hood and face-covering collar when zipped up stood facing Gavin first and foremost. The trench coat had two pockets with flaps. The front and back of it also had splits for maximum movement and comfort. In general, the trench coat appeared to be made from warm coating fabric, making it practical as well as fashionable.

Peeking down, Gavin then saw dark, large size motorcycle boots made out of genuine leather. A few other belts, buckles, and chains hung around it as well, and Gavin had to step back and laugh.

Mortified completely, Nines attempted to close the door and push him out of the way. “I think you’ve seen enough, Reed!” he barked out his discomfort, but before he could entirely close the doors, Gavin wedged a hand quickly inside closet. It worked, and Nines stopped trying to close the doors while throwing Gavin an unimpressed glare.

“What?” Gavin tossed out, “I like what you got!!”

“I can’t wear any of this!” Nines argued, but Gavin reached inside his closet and yanked out the Black Swamp trousers with the torn, distressful, and erratic patterned paint designs and patches running down the legs of the pants. “Don’t be silly, Nines,” he chided mildly while he grabbed the trench coat as well. “This is fine!! I think Marsha will be weirded out to see ya all punked out for sure, but I think that’ll be worth it even more!!!”

“How kind of you to use me as fodder for shocking and terrifying your ex-girlfriend, Reed,” Nines bowed sardonically. “That sure makes me feel wonderful.”

Ignoring him, Gavin sang out, “For your top, I think we can go with this devil fashion black shirt!” Toying and plucking the various buckle belts and rivets accents on the bodice, Gavin eyed the slim fit shirt with mild greed reflecting brightly in his eyes.

Almost pouting, Nines seemed to fidget nervously as he belted out, “This is insane, Reed, and need I remind you, _very _last-minute for my tastes!!”

As he snatched the clothes out of Gavin’s hands and set them onto the bed, the short detective shoved his hands in his pockets, turned his nose up in disgust at the current clothes Nines was wearing, and he laughed.

Nines didn’t appreciate it, and he tossed Gavin a heated scowl that depicted how displeased he was with this situation. “Reed,” came the low, deep growl, “it’s not really funny!”

“Sure it is!” Gavin quipped, “to see the big and mighty Nines frightened of some gothic clothes?! Duuude, that’s comedy material!!” Backing these up with boisterous rounds of chuckling, he nearly doubled down in laughter as his voice hit all four walls of the bedroom.

As he wiped his tears away from the corners of his eyes, Nines huffed at him as he hissed, “I was trying to make a good first impression, Reed, and considering how this is at best—”

Holding up both hands as if he was under gunpoint, Gavin snapped up as he cried out, “How did ya put it??” Now, it was his turn to mimic the android, and he put on his best ‘Nines’ voice as he grumbled out of his chest, “Petty internet drama? Is that how you said it?”

“Stop that,” Nines growled back, “I thought most people-when they are meeting their partner’s friends and exes for the first time ever-would dress their best for the occasion!”

Sitting down on the edge of the bed next to the clothes, Gavin muttered, “Nah, I think you should just be yourself, Nines; you picked these clothes out yourself for a reason, and I think you should just embrace that.” To help out with the process, he scooted closer to the closet and yanked out the motorcycle boots. Plopping them before the bed, he watched as Nines seemed hesitant for a moment, eyes flittering back and forth between the bed and the floor.

“Reed…”

“You don’t have to worry about the cold,” Gavin pointed out, “just wear whatever you want, and don’t worry about what Marsha may think.” His mind supplied, ‘I’ll handle her’, but he didn’t dare say that out loud while he threw Nines a wide smile.

After grumbling for another moment, Nines caved in.

The moody android knew what to do, and he got to work on shrugging out of his suit and pants…right in front of Gavin…

Leaping up to his feet as if he’d been electrocuted, Gavin tore across the room towards the door, and making sure his back faced Nines, he chirped out, “I’ll wait outside, but I’m sure it’ll be a good night, Nines.”

Before the android could say anything, the door clicked shut softly.

Gavin was left standing awkwardly in the hall, running a hand through his perfectly combed-back hair as he wondered why Nines hadn’t at least warned him that he wanted to disrobe right away first. If he stayed there in the room another minute, he’d—

“I’m ready, Detective.”

The door squeaked open, and Gavin sighed out, “That was fast…”

Almost mawkishly, Nines admitted, “I’m quick to do things if I’m interested and passionately motivated…”

“I’ve noticed,” Gavin chuckled, admiring how perfectly the boots looked peeking out from beneath the long trench coat, and how tall Nines’ figure was. These clothes really suited him to no end, and as the hood of the trench coat had been pulled back to reveal his face, Gavin stared at Nines’ hair for a while. He found himself ogling it for some time, and he knew it was because something wasn’t exactly sitting right.

Picking up on it, Nines frowned, “What’s the matter?”

Waving a dismissive hand as if he were waving a fly out of his face, Gavin replied, “Nothing, we have to get going, soon.”

Drawing up the hood of the trench coat, Nines nodded and stepped around Gavin towards the front door of the apartment.

Yet again, Gavin had to wonder why Nines did that; he wasn’t affected by the cold like humans were. In fact, to the detective’s mind and opinion, Nines looked better without the hood.

He gently pulled it down once they got in his car and drove off towards the address of the restaurant.

~ѰѰѰѰѰ~

“Ribfest?” Nines snorted as he gazed out the window at the restaurant as they sat in the parked car, “this place is called ‘Ribfest’?”

Gavin snickered, “Seems appropriate and to the point, right?”

“I’ll say.”

As the snow stopped falling-thankfully, giving a much clearer view of outside, Gavin saw the pickup truck Marsha described she’d be arriving in. It was parked right next to Gavin’s car, and as Gavin waited while blowing over his clenched fists to warm them up in the old-fashioned ‘caveman’ way, Nines stared out the window at the pickup truck.

LED light yellow, he hissed, “Why’re we doing this again?”

The apprehension the android felt wasn’t only exclusively experienced by himself alone; Gavin too was feeling frightened and nervous as he saw and heard the man driving the truck turn off the engine.

Why were they here?? It was a rather simple-yet complicated answer.

As the cold night air sat around the car and the peace and silence of the darkness all around settled and engulfed them, Gavin felt his nostrils and mouth burning as they turned dry. This was…this was an important thing even he himself hadn’t considered regaling out loud to Nines, but he knew that this was all a part of how to make the image they’d painted of themselves as a couple all the more valid and believable.

Real couples did things together; they traveled together, shopped together, hung out with other married couples together, and they shared experiences together intimately and closely. This was what it was all about. So far, they’d shopped together a few times, and Gavin even felt mildly responsible for influencing Nines in some way to change his style of dress. Only intimate friends and couples seemed to be able to wield that power and influence over each other. Only couples cohabiting and relating intensely to each other were capable of chiseling away and ‘refining’ their significant other into minor versions better suiting themselves, but did that mean they were_ truly_ a couple???

No.

In order to bring that to life, Gavin realized that they had to step outside their personal mind frames and actually show something in terms of the relationship. What good were thoughts, ideas, practices, values, and plots if they weren’t validated and confirmed by others? That’s how the world worked, of course, as no person lived on their own private island. This was an open world, and an open society, and people relied on their experiences, their stories, their witness accounts, and their reports and feedback in order to perpetuate those said experiences throughout time. That was how history had been made, of course; observed, written and reported down, reported on and regaled, and thus making it all substantial and valid.

In a nutshell, they had to show off, and as much as Gavin and Nines hated that equally, there was no way to avoid this matter.

He settled for merely supplying, “Look, Nines, Marsha’s literally my mom’s ‘spy’, I bet, and I wouldn’t be surprised if she was roped into this by my mom as a stupid ‘test’ of sorts to see if we’re really together and can survive through all obstacles and bullshit alike.” His breath fogged up the windows and windshield considerably, but he didn’t care as he stared straight ahead of himself at the darkness all around.

Next to him, Nines commented harshly, “This isn’t at all what entails fulfilling a promise, Reed.”

“I know, I know, I know, and I know,” Gavin whispered repeatedly as he closed his eyes and felt a tiny headache already blooming in the back of his head. God help him get through this. “I promise that once this is all over, Nines, then _all_ debts _will_ be paid in _full_.” He wasn’t sure how else to explain it without making it sound so business-like. It was good enough for now, he supposed, especially considering who he was talking to.

Eyeing him wearily, Nines murmured, “I said I’d help, didn’t I?” Not even waiting for Gavin to provide an answer for the rhetorical question, he added, “I’ll do it to the end, besides which, I’m quite sure that if _you_ yourself even deigned to help me, it would be in the form of being tainted like you are.”

Gavin could only hiss like he’d been burned, and he growled, “Wanna tone it down a bit, Nines? Sheesh!! Felt that one in the cold sizzling right through!!”

Before Nines could respond, Gavin continued on his tirade. Now, having found a convenient target for all of his frustrations, he couldn’t seem to stop himself. Unlocking the car doors abruptly and loudly, he played with the handle of the inside of the door as he muttered incoherently, “Get your smile on, Nines, and try to behave, at least a _little_.”

_If at all possible,_ his mind supplied, but he never voiced this aloud.

Stepping out of the car, Gavin was immediately assaulted by a brutally arctic cold wind slapping him in the face. Cheeks frozen for a moment, he barely was able to lift a hand up and touch his own skin when he heard loud feminine squeals of pure zeal and excitement ringing and cutting through the air.

The passenger door of the pickup truck burst open, and high heeled winter boots crunched their way on the snow. Hands stretched out while a white scarf wrapped around her neck and a small wool hat rested upon her skull, Marsha dove for Gavin. Wrapping him ever so tightly in her arms, she tugged him to her chest as she screamed out, “GAAAAAAAAAAAVIIIIN!!! Oh my goooooooood!!! It’s been sooooooo long!!!”

Trying to squirm away, Gavin felt her arms go tighter around himself. Wisely, he felt that running away wasn’t a wise move; she only yanked him closer in her own embrace. Relenting, he pet her on the back a few times awkwardly, while her husband exited from the truck next and smirked.

Waving at him, he grunted awkwardly, “Reed, right?”

Waving back, Gavin responded, “Err, yeah, Gavin Reed.”

“Nice to meet you,” came the nice, socially polite comment. “My wife’s told me a lot of good things about you.”

Had she? That was a first.

Once Marsha decided she’d had her complete fill of smooshing Gavin, she let him go, and she then squinted over at Nines. However obliquely her next set of actions were as he moved around towards where the android was standing, she immediately began ‘sizing him up’ as she stared at him from head to toe, and then from his very toes to his face again.

As she gazed intently and openly at Nines, gawking at him more as time went on, Charles brushed some hairs off his black coat and jeans as he awkwardly cleared his throat.

“So this is your…partner, Reed?” It had been spoken in such an odd, abstract way, but Gavin could only nod robotically more so due to the cold.

“Sh-should we head inside?” Gavin asked, bypassing more awkward gaping and staring as he nodded over to the luminous glow emanating from the restaurant. It was growing colder faster and faster, and truth be told, he was so hungry above all else…

Snapping to attention, Marsha stood back, looped her arm with her husband’s, and she let out a tiny giggle. “Yeah! Let’s go!!” Already skipping towards the restaurant, she paused midway, turned, and glared over at Nines.

Only, Gavin hadn’t caught it due to turning off his phone so they wouldn’t be disturbed, but Nines surely did, and he glared right back at Marsha until they reached the front of the restaurant.

~ѰѰѰѰѰ~

“It feels sooooo good to be indoors, right sweetie?!” Marsha certainly was the Queen of making the dumbest comments of the century, and things seemed to be getting more annoying for both Nines and Gavin as they allowed the human couple to lead them inside the restaurant.

Thankfully, Marsha and Charles had already reserved a booth for four people, and the waitress led them towards it cheerfully. The entire place had been decorated to the nines for Christmas already, and it made Gavin’s stomach churn uncomfortably. For one, a lot of the servers and waitresses already were wearing red, green, black, and white uniform colors. On their heads, majority of them had either elf hats, or reindeer antlers with bells attached that jingle-jangled loudly whenever they walked about. Classic Christmas music blasted on the speakers, and a lot of tinsel, holly, ivy, mistletoe, Christmas lights, Christmas trees, stockings, gifts, as well as Santa models could be found every other corner of the restaurant.

Their booth was a fuzzy, red seated circular one, and it was as close to the bar and grill as possible. A fresh scent of the meat cooking and steaming hit Gavin’s nostrils, and he had to work hard on repressing the sounds of his growling, demanding stomach.

Once they sat down at their clean booth, the waitress handed them all their menus, and she had already set out glasses of crystal-clear water. Once she saw Nines, however, she did a doubletake when it came to his LED light, winced, and then took away his glass.

“I’ll let you folks just look through our menu, now,” she announced while she avoided all eye-contact with the punk, gothic Nines, as though he made her quite uncomfortable. She left as soon as Charles gave her an auspicious wink, and as he settled next to his wife, she shrugged out of her long, white winter coat and draped and folded it neatly next to herself. Placing her black purse on top of it as well, now that she was embroidered in better light, she seemed to be at the height of her happiness next to her handsome husband.

Gavin was able to see that Marsha hadn’t really ‘aged’ in any downhill manner. Her skin remained soft, absent of wrinkles, stress-free, and it held some sort of an odd glow around and within it. She barely looked a day over thirty-two at the most, and Gavin had a difficult time believing she actually had a son as well.

Her hair was still as long as he’d seen in the photos on her Facebook profile, of course, but she obviously had cut it a little, so it rested just in the middle of her waist. Still slender and rather athletic, Marsha looked fit and healthy in her red miniskirt, thigh-high black winter boots, and black long sleeve shirt that had been freshly washed and ironed. She wore a thin layer of eyeliner above on her top eyelid, and her perfume was rather…potent. Gavin hated it whenever a woman doused herself in perfume, and he was already feeling his nose burning up and reacting quite badly to her scent.

Charles on the other hand smelled clean and fresh as well as looked the part, but he somehow seemed more subtle and a lot calmer than his wife. His soft olive colored eyes and blonde hair reflected nicely in the lights of the diner, and as he removed his winter jacket, he was simply dressed in a blue dress shirt and a dark blue tie. The cuffs had been rolled back a little, however, and as he pulled his arms up to rest on the surface of the table, Marsha peeked down at his cufflinks and let out a tiny hiss.

Reaching for his wrists, she gently straightened them out as she sibilantly spat, “Sweetie, your shirt…”

Charles immediately acquiesced and allowed her to fix them up for him as he chuckled. 

Gavin rolled his eyes. Nothing had changed in terms of Marsha insisting on controlling others; especially the men in her life.

Poor Charles.

Straightening himself up, the man who looked suddenly a bit too old for his wife stared at Nines, and then at Gavin, and then back over at Nines. Lowering his head as a rosy glow broke out in his face, he mumbled unenthusiastically, “I like your husband’s—err, I mean, fiancé’s clothes, Mr. Reed.”

Gavin let out a loud snort, catching the attention of the diners located a few booths over. Nines stomped on his foot roughly, the heel of the boot grinding down strongly over Gavin’s toes. The pained detective merely bit the insides of his cheeks, however, and he withdrew his foot from beneath Nines’ powerful boot.

“Err, thanks, Charles,” he grunted. “And you can just call me ‘Gavin’, by the way.”

Nodding, Charles looked back down at his menu, and then kept out of the conversation. Above, the music switched to _Frosty the Snowman_, causing a few children near the Christmas tree to sing along as they gushed in sheer joy. Their irate parents dined and tried quieting them down to no avail.

While Charles’ eyes roamed over the length of his menu, Marsha sat with both her hands propped against both cheeks. Her face was right before Nines’ as she leaned into the table of the booth as much as she could, her white scarf trailing down over the edge while she struggled to get a deeper look at the android sitting next to her ex-boyfriend. As her thin eyebrows rose steadily while Nines scowled at her with all his might, Gavin fidgeted and sputtered out, “Err, s-so, Marsha…h-how’s your son?”

“Hmm?” Waking up from her dreamland slowly, she giggled as she finally caught on, “Oh! Nathan’s doing well!! He’s at a babysitter’s house, of course!!!”

“Umm, all night?” Gavin asked quickly, hoping to fill into the awkwardness before Marsha could somehow piss Nines off by staring at him as though he were some circus freak on full display.

Waving a hand at him in a dainty sort of way, Marsha exclaimed, “Of course!!! We need our time together sometimes, Charles and I!!”

Yeah, he got that.

Staring over at his menu, he pretended to take up interest in it, even though he’d already settled for roasted ham with a side dish of mashed potatoes and corn.

Good enough.

While Nines gazed off to the side almost shyly, Marsha decided to suddenly act as though she were a long-lost sycophant fan of his or an admirer. Tapping a clean, white-manicured fingernail in the center of the wooden table, she asked, “So how long have you two been together?”

Nines stared at Gavin, wondering if he would answer, but before the detective could do so, Marsha quickly intervened with, “It’s ‘Nines’, right?”

LED light switching to yellow, Nines softly responded, “Yes, I’m Nines.”

Chuckling, Marsha again asked, “So how long have you two been an item?!?!?” Fluttering her eyelashes at them, she added, “I must say, you guys actually look even cuter together in person!!”

How long were they together?

Gavin shrugged, “Err, not that long, I mean…like what…almost a year, Nines?”

Lips barely moving, Nines hissed, “Seems about right.”

“Well, I just think you two are amazing!!” Marsha sang, and her husband set down his menu as he gathered her own in his hands, next.

Smiling politely at Nines and Gavin, he inquired carefully, “So, Nines, are you also working for the DPD?”

Glaring at Gavin for a moment, Nines seemed to be non-verbally asking just how much Charles and Marsha knew about him, and Gavin looked away as he flushed pink. Nines seemed to be expecting an answer, however, but Marsha-ever the chatterbox-seemed to keep on going down the path she’d carved out for herself. Really, it was a train that couldn’t ever be stopped, and to want to stop it was only a futile desire.

It was better to let the questions come.

One by one, they poured out of her, and she waved her hands ecstatically about, her wide, round eyes and long eyelashes the only things that Nines could see as she drew herself closer and closer to him.

“Have you two moved in together, yet?! I bet you have! I bet you have a lovely place!!!”

“What about kids? Are you guys thinking of kids in the future?”

Not even taking a breath, she rambled on, “Ooooh!!! And Nines is an androiiiid!!! That must be new and exciting, huh Gavin?”

Needing a break from this madness, Gavin stared up at one of the many elf hats that jingled by, and he raised a hand as he tried getting a waiter’s attention. He didn’t have to try too hard; the young man pranced over towards their booth, and he smirked at Gavin as if he already knew what was going on.

“Sir,” he addressed calmly and formally, bending over halfway as Gavin held up his menu and Nines’.

Holding out the menus, Gavin simply said, “I’ll take the roasted ham and side dish of mashed potatoes and corn, please…” Pausing, he quickly added, “…With lots of butter, please.”

“Certainly, sir.” Turning to the others, he then asked, “Are we all ready to order, then?”

With a brief second’s peek at Nines, Marsha held a hand up to her mouth as she giggled, “Teehee!! Well, all except for Nines, since he’s an android!!!”

Her husband chuckled as well, gently holding her to his side as he coughed up a laugh at the waiter. “We’re ready to order, sir.”

Oh, how Gavin want to wipe that stupid shit-eating smirk off both Marsha’s face, and Charles’. But all he could do was sit and watch as the waiter took down their orders, and then marched away with the bells attached to his hat making musical noises harmoniously.

The air was suddenly so stuffy here, but he felt that mostly because they’d reached a sort of age-old-familiar ‘social awkwardness’ that Gavin always faced whenever he’d been forced out to socialize with strangers. He’d always had good intentions, of course, but once the social niceness and politeness had waned off and he found that there was nothing left to talk about, that was when the embarrassing feeling of being ‘stuck’ weighed and slammed into his head.

He was now stuck.

Marsha’s intractable behavior earlier hadn’t exactly helped, either, but it seemed to not matter to the woman at all. She sipped her water, her pink lip gloss staining the cold side of the cup she was drinking from. The moment her husband looked down to check his phone resting on his lap, no doubt, she tossed a flirtatious wink surreptitiously at Gavin.

That was it; he needed a drink.

At least the bar was close, anyway.

Standing up immediately, he took off his jacket, and as he folded it neatly on his seat, Nines asked gently, “Where’re you off to, Ree-err, I mean, Gavin?”

Thankfully, no one caught that, as just in the nick of time, an infant had decided to kick up a fuss and wail out a piercing cry that rang about nastily in the restaurant.

Flinching as he heard the near deafening cries, Gavin coughed out carefully, “Err, I’m getting a drink?” Motioning over at the bar, he then said, “I think you have to order on your own, apparently.”

Without invitation, in a jiffy, Marsha leapt to her feet. Taking it upon herself, she volunteered, “I’ll come with you!!”

Her husband Charles nodded. “Get me the usual, honey.”

“Okay sweets,” she threw back merrily at him, and in an instant, before Gavin could even blink, she looped her arm around his, much in the similar fashion as she had with her husband upon entering the restaurant. Gavin was led away from the booth in a hurry, and the colors, lights, sights, and sounds all swirled messily around him as Marsha’s potent perfume slammed into his burning nostrils.

Blinking back tears as he fought to breathe through his mouth only, Gavin kept his eyes on the back of Marsha’s black hair as she tugged him and led him up to the lavender colored bar counter. Gavin’s knees knocked into the damn thing, and he hissed as he leaned against a black, shiny stool. With all the confidence in the world as if she was the sexiest thing alive, Marsha pushed aside a few propped-up menus and signs, and she winked at the first bartender who approached.

“Evenin’ ma’am,” he purred delightfully at her, and she smiled back widely.

“Heya, can I get one Cabernet Sauvignon, one Chardonnay, aaaand…” Pausing, she smirked at Gavin, indicating that he had to tell her what he wanted.

Not caring for the classier things, Gavin merely grunted out at the bartender, “I’ll have one Corona, please.”

Nodding his head, the bartender turned on his heels, and he got to work. As he yanked out the three glasses and got out the alcohol from coolers and buckets, Marsha turned and leaned with her elbows on the counter. Stretching her long, thin legs out before herself, she seemed to be puffing out her more than endowed chest, as if purposefully showing off to Gavin what kind of ‘assets’ she had.

Ignoring it, Gavin focused on the music, as well as the ability not to burst out sneezing all over the damn place. He was starting to feel a throbbing headache.

As he zoned out, Gavin felt his headache growing worse, and he blinked hard, as if he could somehow dispel it. No, banishing a headache wasn’t that simple, and he was a fool to try. Still, he kept blinking, shivering mildly as he felt his nose really flaring up.

Why was it burning?!?!

A gentle hand resting down on his shoulder suddenly gave him a thought as to why his nose burned so badly.

Turning his head around to his right, he saw Marsha throwing him a playful-yet impishly dark look. He didn’t like it and appreciate it at all, but he was frozen in place; she was advancing, and she was doing so relatively quickly.

Lips pausing next to his ear, if someone happened to be walking by and they didn’t know them, it would be fair to assume they were engaged in a rather close, intimate conversation…

Marsha’s purred words eased their way into his ears so dangerously, the tremors racking him and antagonizing him beyond what words could say.

With a mild glance thrown in the direction their booth was located, Marsha chuckled softly, “So, _this_ is what you wanted all along, huh Gavin?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feck


	20. Shits and Giggles (tests)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just testing out some stuff on Wattpad because apparently, a few people had their fics removed for smut???

Me posting pure smut on Wattpad and Tumblr and then running away.

*Hours later* Thinking I got away with it, only to have my profile shut down and a warning email sent to me.


	21. Something Different

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Accidental fumbling beneath the table.

He knew she’d been referring to Nines, though what _of_ Nines, Gavin had no idea. He wasn’t in the mood for guessing games either, and he always thought that as rudely as it could be taken, it was far better to just ask things and get right down to the point instead of skirting around the subject at hand just to be nice.

Curbing all his airs and graces for the moment, he frowned a deep frown as he asked, “What do you mean?”

With a tiny eye roll indicative of her impatience bubbling beneath the well-tamed surface, she hissed out vindictively, “Your _partner_, Gavin! What’s with his style of dress?”

Oh…so she was indeed shocked? Good.

Feeling his lips twitching in sheer success, Gavin tried playing it cold as ice while shrugging nonchalantly, “I dunno, he likes it.”

A thin eyebrow rose on her forehead, “He likes it?!”

“Mhm.”

Puffing out her cheeks for a moment, Marsha exhaled a deep, long breath that made parts of her hair that hung down over her cheeks blow and move back. “Soooo, let me get this straight,” she began as she looked genuinely annoyed and pained. “Your partner’s perfectly fine with dressing up like a Tim Burton character as he parades around Detroit with you like that?”

Snorting crudely, Gavin snapped, “He’s not a Tim Burton character, Marsha.”

“He looks like Edward Scissorhands!” she almost shrieked flippantly, causing another female bartender to glance up from restocking the shelves and racks.

Feeling himself blushing, Gavin tried escaping from his horrific embarrassment by resorting to joking. It was always a means to detract from his discomfort and social awkwardness, and it’d always yielded good results. Plus, it didn’t hurt that people liked jokes.

Sniffing once because of the damn perfume still wafting about in the air and then rubbing his nose quickly, Gavin grinned, “Oh, Edward Scissorhands? So you mean my partner’s as sexy as Johnny Depp then, right Marsha? Is that literally what you’re saying?”

“Oh, knock it off, Gavin,” she snapped irritably. “That’s not what I meant, and you know it.”

Shrugging, Gavin retorted, “Style is something personal, but I guess you never understood that, Marsha.” Again, he felt age-old residual feelings of control, manipulation, gaslighting, and the over-arching need for her to change any man she was ever with; constantly bending and molding them until they were the apotheosis of the ‘perfect guy’.

But who was to tell Marsha Field that ‘perfection’ never existed!? If she ever was informed of that, well, it would be the end of days as humanity knew it, for sure. Better to _not_ touch that shit with a fifty-foot pole.

Still mildly chuffed about his last comment, Marsha stared angrily at Gavin from head to toe before a standoffish sneer was instantly upon her face. It made her suddenly look terrifying. “Well, you don’t exactly have a good sense of fashion and style either, Gavin…” Eyes rolling up to the ceiling, she pushed a stray hair strand out of her face as she concluded, “…Seriously, some of the crap you’ve been wearing and calling ‘clothes’ all these years is just…” Her face scrunched up, then, “…Eewww…”

But how had she…how could she possibly know about all this?!? Gavin felt the hairs on his body rising, his heart racing, and he started sweating profusely. There had to be some way she’d obtained all this information!! Who was involved?! Who had she been talking to?! Perhaps his mother?!

…..

No…it was much simpler than that, and there wasn’t a sinister, decadent reason for all this madness. It was just a simple matter of Occam’s razor: the simplest reason or answer was most likely the correct one. Yes, the ‘razor’ here needed to be used for the purposes of effectively shaving away all the unnecessary assumptions when distinguishing between all the damn theories floating around in his head space.

Marsha had gone page creeping. It literally was that simple.

Not entirely too comfortable with the notion that she’d been cyber-stalking him, Gavin stared randomly at a spot behind one of the serving bartenders as he mumbled distastefully, “Glad to see you’ve picked up all your old habits, Marsha.”

Scoffing disdainfully, her face turned rather unpleasant as she muttered perhaps more so to herself, “Please, punks are cool and good if you’re going through your moody teenage years.”

“I’d say it’s more of a goth look,” Gavin corrected with a snicker thrown her way. “I mean, _technically_, anyway.”

Marsha only threw him a cold glare that could freeze water right on the spot, and Gavin had to look away immediately. She still held a lot of sway as far as the ‘fear department’ was concerned, so it seemed. If Gavin didn’t know any better, he would’ve assumed she was absolutely jealous. Setting it all aside for now, however, he tried to ignore what he thought were obvious signs of a jealous woman radiating contempt and mild hatred, especially reserved for Nines.

Remaining silent until their drinks were ready, Gavin carried his own, but also offered to carry Marsha’s.

She didn’t need his help, apparently.

Turning her nose up snobbishly at him, she yanked her wine and her husband’s closely against her chest and offered Gavin a tiny sneer. “Flattery will get you nowhere, Gavin,” she snapped with pure venom teetering on the edge of her voice as she swept by the shorter male.

Following her seemed like the best thing to do for now, and Gavin did so quietly until they reached their booth. To the reserved and silent detective’s sheer surprise, there sat appetizers consisting of two soup bowls and a few tiny avocado sandwiches. It seemed as if the food had just arrived and already been set out so nicely over the surface of the table like a kind invitation of sorts.

Eyeing the steaming buns and toast to go along with the soup, and the tiny dish holding a small salad, Gavin supposed Charles had ordered them. He figured out quickly however that his assumptions had been incorrect. Very, very incorrect.

Slightly puzzled as she slid her husband’s wine bottle and glass over to him, Marsha exclaimed, “This was nice of you to do, sweets!”

Charles eyed her in utter confusion. “Don’t look at me,” he began, “I didn’t order these.”

She sniped abruptly, “Okay, so the waiter or waitresses did, then.”

Almost fearfully, her husband looked at Nines. As if weary of the kind of reaction he would soon garner from his wife, Charles shrank down considerably in his seat almost like a scorned child.

Regarding him in ever the disparaging manner, Marsha sighed, “Thank you, Nines.”

The darkly clad android only nodded. “No thanking is necessary.”

Sitting herself back down next to her husband, Marsha began drowning her listeners in garrulous conversation that would have driven anyone else beyond insane. Gavin was left feeling superfluous; being on the receiving end of such private information being so easily blurted out made him truly think he was just an accessory in this little gathering. Thankfully, however, he wasn’t the only ‘third wheel’ while he sat next to a rather stiff, despondent Nines.

Marsha was currently blabbing and yapping away about her education, her work experience as a registered nurse, and all the ‘horror stories’ she’d heard of and personally experienced on the job. Her conduct in comparison to her much quieter husband’s demeanor definitely catered to her appearing far too supercilious for her own good. The haughty woman just kept talking, and talking, and talking, and talking…

Right when Gavin was beginning to wonder if it would ever stop, two waitresses suddenly appeared practically out of nowhere. Carrying along the meals they’d ordered with themselves, Gavin saw that Marsha had ordered for a roasted duck breast glazed in honey and garlic with rosemary and thyme. Charles proved to be quite the carnivore; while his wife ordered a side dish of mixed greens with vinaigrette dressing, Charles scarfed down plenty of ribs. His barbecue chicken ribs and steak slowly began disappearing, and the bones piled up on the side of his plate gradually. In no time at all, the teriyaki sirloin was completely gone. A few times as he licked the bones clean of their sauce and remaining meaty particles, Marsha rolled her eyes and hissed sardonically to him, “Are you a dog?? Why’re you licking your food and plate like that?! Disgusting!!!”

Normally, Gavin wouldn’t have ever put up with this from _anyone_, girlfriend or otherwise. He had simply no idea how on Earth Charles put up with this shit, but the other man did. Smiling, he apologized, wiped his lips clean with his napkin, took a swig from his drink, and kept on eating. Once in a while, he would stare over at his wife, blush, and then push over some sauce or bits of his own meal for her to eat and sample.

Perhaps he really was in love with her, after all…still, love was always blind, Gavin supposed, and he felt a bit annoyed with watching how Marsha and Charles interacted and how they talked to one another. They often spoke in hushed tones when they weren’t interested in chatting with Gavin and Nines, and they otherwise remained physically close and pleased to be around each other.

…...

And what was going on with himself and Nines???

Staring over towards his right, he caught a glimpse of Nines just sitting there staring around ever so awkwardly. It pained Gavin to see the tall, darkly clad android companion of his just aimlessly gaping about like it was nothing. Nines wasn’t this socially awkward at work!! So why was he, now?! There wasn’t too much of a difference between a restaurant and work!! A building was a building, people were people, and the only thing that differed here was the time, the setting, and the occasion!! Why was Nines holding back?!

Something angry had welled out of himself, but he forced it back as he glared at his ‘partner’ staring off to the side at a few children who were currently being entertained by a staff member of the restaurant dressed up as Santa Claus, while a few of the other waitresses and waiters were playing the role of the elves. They gathered around the Christmas tree near a large gas fireplace as they sat on the Santa’s lap while their parents took photos.

Nines seemed to be studying them with an odd sense of curiosity in his eyes beaming forth, but it was getting a bit annoying for Gavin’s standards. This wasn’t his first winter experience, ever, and Gavin had no idea why he was suddenly so fascinated by some children sitting before some cheekily-made-up, cheesy Christmas boxes and gifts next to an incandescent tree that was far too fake for its own good, all topped off with a Santa Claus who was most definitely a guy no older than twenty-four at the most wearing a stupid phony beard!!

…..

Perhaps he was far too much of a curmudgeon these days…

Trying to catch Nines’ attention, Gavin cleared his throat to speak, but unfortunately, Marsha beat him to it.

Leaning over the table a little, she asked softly, “So, when do you think you and Nines will have your wonderful wedding, Gavin?”

He froze. Yet again, someone had asked this question, and with the last person being Captain Fowler, Gavin knew he couldn’t answer Marsha in the same way he had his own boss. He often spoke to Fowler in blunt ways that others would no doubt label as beyond execrable, but with Marsha, and especially considering how her husband was by no means a ‘small man’, Gavin had to be more recreant in his approach.

Only offering her a lopsided grin, he stated casually, “We’re still workin’ on that, Marsha.”

Giggling a little, Gavin could already tell that the alcohol had made her ‘tipsy’. Fluttering her eyelashes at him, she inquired softly, “Yeeeah, but like, are you guys thinking of a summer wedding? Spring?”

As she held out her hands expectantly, Gavin reached beneath the table and gently poked Nines in the side of the leg, desperate to get his attention; any kind of attention!!! He wasn’t as socially suave whenever he was on the spot, and he wished Nines would say something!!

Unfortunately, no amount of poking would do, apparently. Rather than even trying to see what the issue was and why he was being poked and prodded at, Nines edged himself towards the opposite side of his chair, as if trying to escape from Gavin. The other male scowled daggers at Nines for it. He knew the android likely didn’t mean anything by it, but something like anger lashed through the pit of his stomach at the thought of being abandoned to ‘fend off’ Marsha’s barrage of questions.

Unrelenting, she sighed out, “Guess it may be a summer wedding! It’s what my sweets and I had…” Resting her head on her husband’s shoulder, she batted her eyelashes coyly at him, and it made him nuzzle and stroke her cheeks with a few of his fingers so compassionately.

“Mhm,” Charles murmured, “summer weddings are the best, Gavin! We highly recommend them.”

Still trying to poke Nines without obviously displaying it, Gavin smiled a pained grimace as he grunted, “Oh yeah? Well, you never know, haha!” Jabbing roughly at Nines’ hip, he finished, “We may do that, I guess, but I’d need to _discuss_ it with _Nines_.” Placing heavy emphasis on the words he wanted to seriously resonate within the damn android who wanted to play oblivious next to him, Gavin turned and tried to grab at Nines as roughly as he could.

Meanwhile, as Gavin struggled, Charles and Marsha drank more of their alcoholic beverages. Rosy cheeks seemed to be common among the couple, and Charles unbuttoned the top button of his dress shirt. Leaning back a little, he nodded at Gavin as he asked, “So, Reed, what’s your father’s opinion on Nines? Does he approve?”

Immediately, both Gavin and Nines turned and slowly stared over directly at Charles. It appeared as if the entire restaurant had grown quiet, but in actually, that wasn’t really the case. It only felt that way for Gavin and Nines only due to the sad news and the heavy sense of trouble and turmoil burdening them both.

Hanging his head low, Gavin could only stare into the center of the table in sheer silence.

Marsha played with one of her earrings, and as Charles looked around the table awkwardly, he whispered out, “Did I say something wrong?”

Answering on Gavin’s behalf, Marsha chided her husband softly, “Gavin’s father died, love.”

…..

“…Oh,” Charles coughed, immediately flushing deeply and looking rather penitent. Bowing his head down, he added quickly, “My deepest condolences, Gavin.”

He didn’t need anyone’s pity. Fuck pity. But he couldn’t exactly say that.

Blinking back his anger that was steadily rising and bubbling to the surface, Gavin expurgated his feelings of irritation and the need to lash out as quickly as he could. Instead of channeling it at Charles or Marsha, however, he instead began clawing at Nines beneath the table.

All while still holding a somewhat respectful smile upon his face, Gavin practically dug his fingernails right through Nines’ pants as hard as he could. “Oh, it’s okay,” he said to Charles politely, “I’m over it, so it’s fine.”

Nodding, Charles turned to his wife, and he whispered at her, “Why didn’t you tell me this before? Now I look like a jackass!”

Hissing back, Marsha retorted, “I didn’t know until recently, myself!!”

While the couple bickered, the noises in the restaurant seemed to pick up again. The vicinal booths and tables close to theirs seemed to radiate positive, cheerful energy. But Gavin didn’t have time for that jovial merry-making nonsense. As he tried calming himself down in the best way possible, he tore away at Nines’ legs and clothes, not necessarily consciously trying to inflict harm or make the android suffer, but he was trying to distract himself, badly.

Wincing, Nines edged away a bit, but he had no room to go anywhere else. Not wanting to fall off his chair, he sat as stiffly as he could while Gavin ran his hands up and down the length of his left thigh in agitated patterns and motions.

Eyes shifting as she held her glass of wine to herself, Marsha snapped at her husband, “What?! It’s not like I live on Facebook!! How was I supposed to know way ahead of time?!”

As Gavin’s shoulders tightened, his movements became more and more erratic, and far more aggressive. He heard Charles quickly whispering back, “I doubt Gavin’s mother would post that crap on Facebook anyway…”

Now, Gavin was resorting to pounding on Nines’ thigh, and he was only doing so because his own heart was racing and pounding like the biggest hammer on Earth fit for a giant’s insatiable destruction. Inside, he was destroying himself, and this was the last thing he could do to cope…to help himself…to get a hold of himself. Breathing in and out deeply, he felt his rib cage even aching, now, but he was still smiling ahead at Marsha and Charles, at least.

He had to keep the charade going…he had to…

Suddenly, when Gavin tried bashing one more time at Nines’ leg, the android swiftly turned in his seat. Now, his body wasn’t guarded by his sides facing Gavin anymore. Gavin’s fist didn’t stop, however. He’d been aiming of course for Nines’ leg like before, but now that Nines was more ‘open’ to him, Gavin’s fist flew down between Nines’ legs rather than at the actual leg itself. Anticipating what was going to happen before it could, Nines reached down beneath the table, and in one deft motion, his hand slammed down over Gavin’s clenched fist. Swiftly unfurling Gavin’s dangerous fist, Nines opened his hand, and he held it there for a moment.

Only, Gavin didn’t want to stop. On the brink of explosion that was unsurpassed, Gavin couldn’t contain himself. Bursting down on Nines’ hold over himself, he pressed down with his hand, and at the exact same time, Nines shifted forward. It was a terrible case of both of them being lost in regards to the heat of the moment, with their conflicting agendas battling. Nines wanted to keep Gavin calm as much as possible, and Gavin wanted to resort to his old habits of lashing out and sometimes doing worse whenever he was faced with anger he couldn’t control.

As a result of neither of them being able to predict what was going to happen before it took off and had a life of its own, Gavin pressed down further, and Nines lost his grip on the detective’s strong hand. Immediately, Gavin’s hand landed right between Nines’ legs. He _definitely_ shouldn’t have done that; he _definitely_ felt something there that…

No!! No!! No!!! This was horrible!!!

Immediately taking his hand as far away from between Nines’ legs as he could, Gavin yelped in surprise, and since he’d snatched his hand so abruptly, it slammed on the underside of the table. Dishes and glasses rattled, but thankfully, nothing broke or fell down to the floor.

Nines’ eyes went wider than tiny plates, but he didn’t seem to know what to say.

What could he say, really?? What could Gavin himself, say?? Accidentally, he’d touched another man’s genitals!!! Yes, it had been an accident, of course, but he still felt so—

“Gavin?”

Glancing up naturally when he heard his name called forth from Marsha’s lips, he saw a small, fleeting look of concern flooding her round, brown eyes. She asked whether he was alright or not, and he reacted by reaching up with a hand to wave auspiciously at her.

…..

This was the same hand he’d touched Nines with!!!

Embarrassed once again beyond belief, Gavin could’ve sworn he felt his entire right hand burning and literally on fire. He had to take care of this!!!

Reaching for his cold alcohol, he nodded curtly at Marsha as he wrapped his hand around the width of the glass. “I’m okay…” Immediately, he certainly felt more relaxed, and his hand definitely was cooling off as he pressed his skin against the ice-cold glass.

Perfect. This was much better.

Avoiding all eye contact with Nines, Gavin tried changing the topic regarding his father’s passing. He found that it wasn’t all too difficult to do when Marsha was already talkative enough. The woman and her husband seemed to want to get back to drinking, perhaps as a means of escaping the rather strange turn the conversation had taken. This was all just fine by Gavin, of course. The less emotional, sappy shit he had to hear and deal with, the better.

As time went on, and as they ordered their desserts, plus new rounds of alcohol, Gavin noticed that Marsha and Charles _really_ began to open up.

‘Loose lips sink ships’, he’d heard his mother once say, and it seemed like they were nearly at a drowning point as far as the ship sinking was concerned.

Marsha talked about a lot of odd things, starting from her son’s odd behavior, right up to the most embarrassing moments of her life to date. Charles followed in line next, sharing his experiences, while Gavin and Nines sat back and just listened. It was expected for both Marsha and Charles to now be loquacious given how the alcohol soothed their nerves and opened them up to the experience, and Gavin soon found that he wasn’t the exception to that, either.

He soon drank more and more, however, and it wasn’t long before he felt his mind and body gradually slipping under the sweet seductive powers that alcohol promised. He too started talking a lot more than he would have in normal circumstances, but how could he help it?? It was just a natural reaction to being out and open with people who were pretty good company!! Almost anyone would’ve done the same thing and reacted the same way if they spent more and more time in someone else’s presence.

Soon, Gavin was a garbling mess as his hair fell into his eyes. Marsha’s did as well, and she brushed the long strands back as she giggled and flicked the tip of her husband’s nose in a playful move.

Winking at her, Charles then asked gruffly, “So babe, how does it feel hanging out with your ex after years of zero contact?” Since he’d asked it in a polite way even though he was beyond tipsy, Gavin wasn’t offended at all. Since he was Marsha’s husband, Gavin supposed he had some kind of a right to inquire about the previous relationship that went on between his wife and her ex.

Sweetly grinning at her husband, Marsha cooed, “Well, it’s not toooooo bad!! I mean, I wasn’t expecting him to suddenly be interested in guys, but hey!!!” Giggling even more and louder, she added, “They kinda look good together though, don’t they, sweets?”

Nodding as he stared at Nines first, and then at Gavin, Charles agreed, “I think they do!”

While they ate through some apple pie, slices of still frozen cake, and downed it all with more alcoholic beverages, Gavin found he genuinely was having the time of his life. He hadn’t recalled laughing as much in a long, long time, and he was truly grateful to Marsha and Charles for it.

Unfortunately, Nines didn’t seem to be engaged in the conversations as much, nor could he eat, but he still smiled and answered questions if he was spoken to.

As the night wore on, and as the restaurant slowly started becoming empty, Gavin felt more at ease. He even forgot about lowering his voice as he laughed and regaled silly stories of his own youth to Marsha and Charles, he pigged out more, and best of all; he forgot about his odd accident involving Nines.

Yes, he was having a great time.

Charles decided to pay for their meal when no more than ten customers had remained in the restaurant. As he beckoned the waiter over to hand them their bill, Gavin checked his phone for the time.

His fingers slipped messily due to his mild levels of intoxication, and Nines whispered in his ear, “It’s nearly ten, Detective.”

“Shit…really?”

“Yes.”

It certainly didn’t appear that way!!! Gazing outside, Gavin thought it was at least a little past midnight, but he remembered that due to the autumn months and nearing winter, days were shorter, which meant that of course, it would become darker faster.

Pocketing his phone while Charles paid for their meal, Gavin slowly started to think of a way to excuse himself. This was always an awkward thing to do whenever he went out, and he supposed it was probably a strong reason for why he never got out much to begin with. He just didn’t like being put on the spot in order to have to play nice and keep up a stupid social façade of the good friend who just yearned and craved to be alone, but didn’t want to mention it so as to not hurt his friends’ feelings…

Fuck being stuck in such a situation!!!

Coughing gently enough to get Marsha and Charles’ attention, he smiled as he bowed his head a little and announced, “W-well, I think we should head home. I’m drunk, and Nines is gonna drive, but thank you guys so much for this.”

Following in his lead, Nines added, “Yes, it was a real treat, and I enjoyed meeting you both.”

Clicking her tongue against her teeth as she tsked a few times, Marsha wagged her index finger at Gavin and Nines while giggling and shaking her head playfully. “Nu-uh-uh, you two,” she chided them mildly as she grinned a wide grin that made her look slightly crazy. “You can’t leave us juuust yet!!”

“That’s right!” Charles agreed, though he helped his wife put her coat on while Nines and Gavin stared on quizzically.

Having had enough of the games, Gavin growled lightly, “What do you mean?? I thought it was just dinner, and activities…oh…”

“Teeehee!!!” Marsha squealed as she put on her scarf and bundled her long hair up beneath her hat. “You almost forgot, Gavin!!!” Singing out off-tune to herself, she sighed out happily, “We’re going back to our place for more drinks, so make sure your whistles are wet!!”

Rolling his eyes, Gavin hissed, “My lips are actually kinda dry because of the weather, and I think I drank already too much, Marsha.”

Gasping, Charles disagreed, “Nah, you can’t say that, Gavin!!! Killjoy!”

“I’m not a killjoy, I just—”

Tapping his chin playfully with two fingers, Marsha leaned into him and winked as she giggled out slowly, “You won’t n-need to worry about dry lips for long, Gaaaviiin!!”

Turning pale, Gavin swallowed nervously, and as he stood taller on his feet, he nearly knocked back clumsily into Nines. Ignoring the massively well-built-yet lean-android behind himself, Gavin felt he had another urgent, pressing matter to attend to.

Staring quite pleadingly into Marsha’s eyes, he asked her in an almost boyish and innocent tone, “What d-do you mean?”

Waving at her husband as he led the way and held open the restaurant doors, Marsha purred out as her slightly smudged and smeared mascara and eye-shadowed eyes blinked rapidly at Gavin.

“We’re going to do the chapstick challenge, Gavin.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yep. You read that right. Chapstick challenge WILL be happening 😈


	22. One Step

As soon as Gavin and Nines got back in the car under the instruction that they were to follow Marsha and Charles back to their house, Nines began lamenting quite vehemently about his uncertainty in taking part in the ‘after-dinner’ events. Making sure to keep his voice low while they waited for Marsha and Charles to settle in their truck, first, Nines glared out through his own side of the driver’s window. His LED light blared red and stayed on that color until Gavin finished having a cigarette lazily in the passenger seat.

The steady lull and buzz of the alcohol swimming in his system was making his veins throb in ways he’d never felt before, but it was nothing in comparison to how he felt as he imagined himself kissing Nines as per required for the chapstick challenge.

No…he’d already touched Nines, and that was enough. Kissing him was going to be the death of Gavin, and the irate male tried to think of ways to avoid it in the first place before it happened. But he couldn’t think straight with all the alcohol affecting his brain and thoughts. Everything was slowing down, but it felt so good…

Tapping the steering wheel of the car as he sat buckled in already, Nines pushed his face into forming a deep scowl as he hissed at Gavin, “This god damn challenge…”

Sighing, Gavin rolled up the passenger window as he finished his cigarette. “It’s easy, Nines,” he began gently, “what you gotta do is basically apply different flavors of chapsti—”

“I know what the hell this god damn game is all about, Reed,” Nines bemoaned in a cutting way, “but I’m not interested in that!” Leaning closer towards Gavin, he sneered as he said, “What I’m more interested in is how the hell you’re going to pull this off considering your prominent heterosexuality?”

Shrewdly, Gavin threw back, “Why don’t you worry about yourself, Nines, and I’ll worry about me, okay?”

Moving back to sit up tall in the driver’s seat, Nines grumbled, “What a lovely, fine mess you’ve gotten me into, Reed. Thank you; this is all I needed to complete my month.”

Saluting him sarcastically, Gavin hiccupped. “You’re welcome.”

Turning his head to the left, Nines put on the phoniest smile Gavin had ever seen, and he waved at Charles and Marsha. They were staring into the car, of course, and they waved back as Charles turned on the truck and moved on forward into the dark night.

Holding out a hand once Nines had the engine turned on as well but refused to move, Gavin encouraged lazily, “Well, come on, then.”

“Don’t test me, Reed,” Nines snarled, but drove on in spite of the infuriating feelings stirring within himself.

It was silent for a while as the android followed the truck in front, and Gavin soon grew bored of just staring on straight ahead. Choosing to try and strike up another conversation with Nines, he muttered, “Look, this isn’t easy for me, either, but it’s not like they’re gonna ask us to make out, Nines.” When he was through with spewing that statement out, he cringed at how nasty it suddenly sounded.

Whether or not Nines felt and thought the same was unknown; the dour android merely glared ahead steadfastly as he soon slowed down when the truck ahead slowed down to eventually come to a halt at a red light.

Still wanting to joke around a bit only because he was slightly drunk, Gavin snickered, “Besides, my stellar good looks may help you with the kisses, eh Nines?”

Only a smoldering look served as his reply, and Gavin murmured, “Never mind…”

As the seconds ticked by painfully slowly, the red lights eventually turned green once again, and Nines removed his foot off the brake pedal. Once the car moved forward on the snowy roads, Nines muttered, “It’s more than just kissing technique, style, or anything of the sort that you’re likely thinking of, Reed.”

Gavin sighed, “What else is there, man?”

“Oh, I don’t know,” came the snarl. “How about the fact that I don’t really engage in these games, and I’d stick out like a sore thumb as far as ‘awkwardness’ is concerned?”

Gavin rolled his eyes and then chose to take up some interest in playing with his fingernails. “Nines,” he sighed wearily and in a gravelly tone, “it’s just for _one_ night. We won’t see Marsha or Charles ever again, so let’s just play along for now. And besides, who cares if they think you fit in or not? Like,” he shook his head, “I don’t get what the big deal here is.”

Eyes widening, Nines grunted through clenched teeth, “I can’t exactly just ‘play along’ if I don’t even know how to _‘play along’_, Reed!” Trembling in anger, suddenly, he snapped in annoyance, “I can’t just sit with your friends and joke around with them as easily as you can! Don’t you know how awkward that would be for us both??”

Gavin shrugged, eyelids somewhat heavy as he sat back in his warm seat. “I don’t really feel the same way, but meh, okay then.”

“Oh sure,” Nines began as he pantomimed holding a bottle of alcohol, “let’s just get wasted, Charles and Marsha!” He exaggerated in a very odd and forced tone that tried to depict someone friendly and easy-going, but instead made him seem crazy more than anything else. “Why don’t we all just vape and then smoke a fucking joint while we’re at it, too?!”

Coughing and choking on his laughter, Gavin pulled up his cargo jacket’s hood when he felt his ears stinging from the cold. Slapping his hands on his knees, he cried out with zeal, “Jesus, Nines!! You don’t curse a lot, but when you do, I swear, it’s the funniest thing ever because it doesn’t really fit you!”

Taking one quick peek at the gothic android driving his car with such a mad, stern facial expression, Gavin replayed the swear word in his mind, and he just lost it once again. Throwing his head back, he giggled and laughed until his sides ached, and until he was crying warm, salty tears.

Nines could only prop up a hand and rest it against the left side of his forehead as he growled deeply, “Sure, keep laughing, Reed…” A dark look crossed over his features, and even Gavin managed to catch it as Nines seethed and whispered almost to himself, “It won’t be funny when we’re caught up in the situation, will it?” As levels of pain and awkwardness rose between them both, Nines slowed the car down when he saw Marsha and Charles doing the same. He sensed they had arrived at their destination.

And so, they had.

Charles and Marsha did in fact live relatively close to the restaurant, and their street was one of the brightest ones Gavin had ever seen. A lot of the neighbors already had majority of their Christmas lights and decorations, and as the lights on the houses and tall trees blinked on and off, it could’ve been seen from a large, long distance. It all looked radiant against the blanketed darkness of the cold night.

Parking the car next to the curb in front of Marsha and Charles’ house, Nines slowly turned off the engine, and before Gavin could do or say anything, the android lifted up a long, slender finger. It shut him up, and Nines merely warned, “Not a word for now, Reed; I don’t want to hear it.”

“Fine!” Gavin spat back acidly. “I wasn’t gonna do anything anyway, damn!”

Car doors opened and closed loudly, and boots crunched along the snow. Both Gavin and Nines glanced up to catch Marsha and Charles approaching the vehicle, and their steamy, foggy breaths panted out before them as they inhaled and exhaled into their lungs the cold night. The motion-detection lights went off around the outside perimeter of the house, and now, both Nines and Gavin were able to properly see the house.

It was a pretty decent one, too. It consisted of two levels, as most houses on the street were, but seemed to be remodeled or redesigned, at the very Least. The shingles were shiny and looked new, the lights were so bright, the Christmas decorations were rather showy and perhaps pricey, and it all looked so clean and pretty all around. The windows were decorated with little patterns and colors, but Gavin couldn’t see too much given the heavy, thick darkness.

Oh well. The less he saw, the better; the less he could be envious and covetous of this couple.

As he wondered just what exactly Charles seriously did for a living that enabled him to make decent money to afford such a decent house, Nines already opened the car door, and he stood outside facing the property.

Marsha helped Gavin open his door, and she practically yanked him out of the car in quite the hurry.

Eyes gleaming in the lights, her smoky eyeshadow and flushed cheeks were right up in Gavin’s face as she chuckled heartily, “Home sweet home!!!”

~ѰѰѰѰѰ~

Envy knocked clean into Gavin when he entered the Driver household. He’d recalled Marsha being super neat and tidy before in her youth, but it seemed that much like her overbearing desire and need to control others, and her hyper-organizational qualities had grown along with her as well. Not only was the house in a perfectly clean state, but there seemed to be special, specific spots and places for literally _everything._

Starting right from the hallway closet, the various shelves and cubbies had been labeled for every member in the family. Charles had his own specially reserved spot for his shoes, jackets, hats, and mittens, as did little Nathan. Everything in the house smelled of freshly clean laundry, but Gavin supposed it was only due to air fresheners being placed almost in every other corner of the house.

What was even stranger was the fact that the house had been ‘childproofed’ and safety-proofed to the max. Protective gates and electric outlets had been covered and sealed, and the appliances all seemed to mostly be unplugged. Artificial plants stood about in various places, and for the longest time, Gavin thought of the lovely assortment of sophisticated, exotic plants Nines kept. Unlike the ones found in this house, however, Nines’ plants were real, and far more engaging to look at. Yes, he found that the notion of wanting to share this information with Nines intrigued him, but alas, for the sake of being polite, it remained a velleity.

Trying not to be too picky and judgmental, however, plaintively he was feeling, Gavin saw that the rest of the house held modern art, technologies, and had been more than likely professionally decorated and designed.

When Charles entered the kitchen to bring out some beer from the fridge, Gavin saw that a fancy back splash designed in check board patterns consisting of white, green, and grey colors lined up the walls. The kitchen appliances looked clean and new, almost as if Charles and Marsha hardly ever prepared and ate home-cooked meals in their home.

Truly, everything was indeed spotless.

Glass décor and fancy art sat about close to the walls, glimmering and shining quite nicely. Seeing how they were almost all like scintillating stars, Gavin made extra sure not to touch anything. Thankfully, they didn’t remain in the kitchen for long; Charles and Marsha led them into the den, and Gavin slid out of his jacket quickly.

The heat inside the house was already on, and as he placed his jacket down over a fancy black leather sofa, he made sure to ask Charles where the bathroom was located.

“Past the kitchen to the right,” Charles had answered once he’d taken off his coat and hung it in his ‘reserved spot’ in the hallway closet.

The den was rather snug and cozy, Gavin thought. The fuzzy, fluffy off-white carpeted floor not only warmed up his socked feet, but the colors contrasted nicely with the raven-black leather sofas. The loveseat Gavin had sat himself down on directly faced another sofa across from it containing three seats. Beneath it rested a crystal clear, coruscating coffee table made entirely of glass, though it only held one magazine and one closed Macintosh laptop over its surface. Not even a speck of dust could’ve been found in the room as the beautiful, luminous pot lights above dimmed when Marsha adjusted them.

A sixty-inch flat screen Smart TV was mounted up high on the wall to Gavin’s right. A dark-framed elongated mirror stretched out much like a window behind and above Marsha’s head on the sofa she was seated on currently. An iPod Nano resting on a portable speaker dock stood a few inches beside the right side of Marsha’s sofa on a little lectern of sorts. Eyeing it, Marsha turned towards it and switched it on to play soft, soothing jazz.

As it flooded the room almost quietly, Gavin found he liked it. When he was handed his bottle of cold Jack Daniels, he relaxed considerably. Near the Smart TV, right beneath one of its HD speakers was a small bar of sorts. Well, the wine cabinet had more or less been mounted high on the wall, no doubt purposefully placed there in such a way so young Nathan couldn’t ever reach it. A marble, circular countertop rested between the wine cabinet and the rest of the open area of the warm den. Three grey stools were propped before the counter, and they shined brightly under the glow of a set of three pot lights hanging from a mount in the ceiling.

Very fancy place.

“Nice place you got yourselves here,” Gavin politely stated, trying to keep his voice and face clear of any signs of jealousy and distress, even though he felt just those two emotions coiling within the pit of his stomach uncontrollably.

Marsha beamed at him with pride, “Yes! We worked very hard on this house, and we—”

She’d been cut off when Nines removed his trench coat and cleared his throat as he stared down at her. Shifting his feet from side to side awkwardly for a moment, he looked genuinely uncomfortable, and that level of discomfort seemed to only be increasing by the second.

“I’m sorry,” he rasped as though he had a sore throat, LED light pure yellow. “Do you maybe think that Gavin and I could trade places with you and your husband in terms of seats?”

Just as he’d asked her this, Charles walked back into the room, bringing along with himself some refreshments consisting of popcorn, cookies, pretzels, and a bowl of onion rings.

Fidgeting anxiously for a moment, Gavin nearly expected Marsha to flat out refuse, but she eventually stood up while smiling gently.

“Sure, Nines,” Charles answered as he set the refreshments down on the coffee table while Marsha moved herself about. “After all,” he continued warmly, “it’s the very least we could do to show you our gratitude for the appetizers back there.”

No one noticed Nines’ eyes fleeting towards the mirror he would’ve been facing had he sat down next to Gavin across from Marsha.

In a jiffy, they all traded and switched up their seating arrangements, and Gavin was actually more than grateful for the change. Now, at least he had an extra sofa seat spaced out between his own body and Nines’. So much the better, then.

As he sat down next to Nines, Gavin caught Marsha staring intently at Nines’ clothing now that he wasn’t hidden beneath the dark mass that was his trench coat. In awe, her eyes swept up and down over the various patterns and designs on his pants. She soon ceased studying Nines when her husband nudged her carefully.

Of course, he’d no doubt meant for it to be a subtle gesture, but Gavin’s seasoned, highly-observant ‘detective eyes’ caught it. He smirked triumphantly.

“So, Nines,” Charles began as he sipped his own bottle of Jack Daniels slowly, “do you enjoy working for the Detroit Police?”

While the soft jazz music played on, Nines looked at the table and nodded. “I feel it’s my calling, I suppose, and I’m happy I found it.” His eyes followed the moves of Charles’ hands while he grabbed a few bits of popcorn from the bowl and munched on them.

“True,” the other man nodded and pushed out in between bites and swallowing. He then sipped his cold beverage, and his wife wandered off towards the fancy wine cabinet and bar. She began preparing herself some high quality white Russian cocktail in no time. Her ice cubes clinked loudly in the glass as she stirred and mixed in the necessary ingredients.

Sensing a level of pure awkwardness already brewing about in the air, Gavin commented, “Umm, so h-how’s Nathan doing?” It was a rather odd thing to just randomly blurt out and ask, but he found himself slightly and genuinely curious anyway.

Only a few photos of Nathan could be found in the den, and from the excited, wide smiles the youngster portrayed in each and every one of them, Gavin assumed that Nathan was an all-around happy and well-provided for kid.

Well…he had every reason to be, of course…at least his dad was still around and still married to his mom…

Forcefully snapping himself out of his maudlin, self-pitying thoughts and feelings, Gavin downed even more alcohol as Marsha finally sat down next to her husband once again.

Drink in hand, she enthusiastically cried, “Nathan’s doing really well! He’s really enjoying his new school!”

“He’s a good kid,” Charles added. “Already, he’s making a lot of friends.”

Upon hearing all that, Gavin yet again started coveting the life of a young child he hadn’t even met.

……

How it came to be that a grown adult male was even jealous of a little kid was simply beyond the detective, so he decided to switch up topics before things took a far more negative turn.

Almost shyly, he directed his next words at Marsha. “Umm, so…this chapstick challenge thing…” He felt the heat of Nines’ glare on his form instantly, and he shrank back from it.

“I don’t really think it’s something we can do,” Nines only admitted, and without even thinking, Gavin nodded vehemently in agreement.

Exchanging confused glances, Marsha and Charles eventually burst out laughing simultaneously. At first, Gavin had been rather upset about being laughed at, but then he knew he really couldn’t blame the couple for laughing as boisterously as they currently were.

For all intents and purposes, Gavin and Nines were supposedly _engaged_. Which partner shied from and shunned away intimacy with their significant other??

...Yes, he was the odd one out, so it seemed.

Needing to cover for their minor mishap before the married couple could comment on the strangeness of it all, Nines sat up as he jumbled out, “Err, we’re just not sure how to play th-this game with another couple?”

The way he said it left plenty of room for Gavin to jump in with, “Yeah! And it’d be weird PDA, I think…”

Because really, how the hell else were they expecting to pull all this off with another couple watching?!

As Gavin’s mind began wandering and conjuring up the possibility that Marsha and Charles could have perhaps been ‘swingers’ of some kind, he caught Marsha shaking her head in mild displeasure.

Placing her drink on a small napkin before setting it down on the spotless coffee table, she playfully tapped her husband’s right shoulder and gave him a knowing look. Charles returned the look with a small head nod followed by a soft chuckle. As Marsha got up and padded out of the room, Gavin looked tremendously frightened, and confused.

Sensing his genuine levels of fear while Nines glared away at nothing, Charles stated, “Don’t worry, my wife just went to get the bag full of different chapstick flavors and brands we have.”

That…that wasn’t the point…

Voice muffled as he covered his face with a hand, Gavin protested weakly, “Charles, we meant how are we gonna do this?”

Staring blankly for a moment, Charles soon cracked up merrily, “Oh! It’s real simple!!!” Ever so calmly, he explained, “We’ll take turns, of course, and our partners can pick the flavor of the chapstick for each other. For example, let’s have Nines pick the chapstick flavor for me, I pick for Nines…”

Catching on, Gavin pointed at himself, “Gavin picks for Marsha, Marsha picks for Gavin…”

“Exactly.”

Footsteps soon approached, and Marsha swept back in the room. Giggling as she landed on her husband’s lap, she held the bag of chapstick to her chest, and she asked, “Did you explain to them the rules?”

Kissing the tip of her nose, Charles purred in glee, “Sure did, sweets.”

“Teeeheee!” she laughed as she threw her head back, held up the bag, and shook it like a prize to be won. “Let’s play!!”

Gavin sensed that it wouldn’t take too long before both the situation became vagarious, as would his own actions.

He really wanted to leave, now, and no amount of booze in the world was helping or could help him calm down before he had a major heart attack.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The tension is even bothering me, trust.


	23. The Chapstick Challenge

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ready?

Gavin and Nines both eyed the bag in Marsha’s hands like their lives depended on it. Eyes bulging, practically, Gavin stared away until his eyeballs felt dry, and until they stung quite badly. Blinking rapidly, he stuttered, “Umm…s-so how many a-are in there?”

Marsha giggled, “Enough, I guess.”

Yep, he needed another drink.

As Gavin drew back his head and chugged more of his icy beverage, Nines winced as he muttered, “To think of all the trouble…”

“Hmm? What’s that, Nines?” Marsha cooed, settling down beside her husband right on the fuzzy carpeted floor as she placed the bag where the laptop once had been after she removed it and placed it down under the table on the floor.

Flinching, Nines elucidated, “I said maybe you two should go first?” It sounded even weak to himself, but Gavin didn’t have time to evaluate that. Internally, he was a huge mess, already crumbling apart and trying to pick up his own broken, shattered pieces. Beyond frightened, he blinked again, though he refused to move when Charles waved at him.

Winking, Marsha sighed, “Oooooh, I seeee how it is; you want an example of how this is going to happen, first, and then you want to go.”

Nines only coughed, “Yeah…right…”

Tapping the carpet, then, Marsha cried, “Sit down, both of youuuu!!”

Staring at Gavin as though he needed the other man’s permission, first, Nines slowly slid himself down. When Gavin didn’t follow, and only when Charles and Marsha stared up at him, did Nines yank him down. Crashing down onto his ass, Gavin hardly blinked as he inched up close to the coffee table. Within its crystal-clear glass surface, he saw his own fearful expression, and he swallowed thickly as Marsha pointed at Nines while giggling.

“No scanning and cheating, Nines!” she laughed, turned the bag to him, and she encouraged cheerfully, “I’m gonna close my eyes, now, and you pick for Charles what flavor of chapstick to put on his lips!”

Nines gaped, “But—”

It was already too late. Giggling blissfully, she already turned her head to the side, closed her eyes, and covered them with a hand pressed against her forehead softly.

As Nines tried to take in the extraordinary confusion, Charles shoved the bag closer to him, the chapsticks knocking and clattering against each other noisily. “No peeking, Gavin!” he chuckled, “your turn’s coming right up afterwards!!”

The detective barely managed to wheeze out painfully, “God…” He had no idea how they were going to pull this off, but he had to silently thank the gods above for the fact that Nines had to suffer through this first.

Watching as the disturbed android snuck a hand into the bag for a moment, Nines had barely even made contact with one single chapstick within the large pile, when Marsha gasped abruptly. Slamming her hand down over the back of Nines’, her sudden, unpredictable behavior made Nines recoil, and he looked about ready to leap up through the ceiling due to fear coursing through his system.

Saucily, Marsha warned while wagging a finger at Nines, “Don’t scan these once they’re on Gavin’s lips, either!!”

Seemingly shocked by just how much she knew about android powers, Nines grunted awkwardly, “I…I won’t…”

Beaming, Marsha cried, “Great!! Okay! Go!”

…..

A pin dropping could’ve been heard in the room, but then Nines eventually let his fingers fish through the bag, sorting past the chapsticks. Eventually, he palmed one, and as Marsha’s eyes remained tightly shut, he held up the chapstick and revealed it to Charles. As Gavin peeked at it, he saw that it was caramel.

Would Marsha be able to guess?!?

The stuff sure stank up the room when Charles popped off the cap and began rubbing it across his lower lip generously. Turning his head to the side to ensure that his wife couldn’t smell it, he smacked his lips together and was ready.

Gavin felt his stomach sink and flop; he already was imagining his turn with Nines, soon.

“Sweets,” Charles gently held onto his wife, and he turned her back towards himself.

Keeping her eyes closed, Marsha sensed her husband nearby, and she leaned into him. Foreheads touching, they smiled even through closed eyes as their lips met in a soft peck. Gavin and Nines stared down at the table in sheer silence, but thankfully, Marsha and Charles ended their kiss relatively quickly.

Once she pulled away, Marsha slowly opened her eyes, running her tongue along her lower lip as she hummed in thought. Suddenly, her thin, light brown eyebrows shot up, and she squealed, “It’s caramel!!!”

“You got it, sweets,” Charles hugged her, and she cheered as she then giggled and announced, “okay, Charles is going to pick for Nines, now!!”

_No…fuck no…please no…_

Gavin started panicking, but he courageously held himself together, no matter how dejected he felt.

Marsha hissed, “Gavin, close your eyes!!”

_Right…shit…fuck…_

The frightful detective took to closing his eyes, turning his back to Nines, and wishing he was on the other side of the damn planet instead of being there in Detroit. He squirmed as he heard Charles going through the bag, and he prayed that whatever the flavor, it would hopefully be one he could smell and sniff out quickly so he wouldn’t have to kiss Nines!!!! But…then again, Charles and Marsha hadn’t exactly made out, either! It was just a peck!! One peck wouldn’t do anything to him! It was barely a touching and tapping of skin on skin!! Nothing so close and intimate and—

“Got one!” Charles chuckled.

_About damn time!!_

Hardly able to hear Nines popping the cap open over the steady thrumming of his own heartbeat, Gavin swam and got drowned in his own anxiety and stress while he waited for Nines to apply the damn chapstick.

Any minute, now, he would be asked to—

“Okay,” he heard Nines’ deep voice call out next to him, “Ree—err, Gavin?”

_Fuck sakes._

Taking a deep breath, Gavin set aside his imminent mental break down for just a moment, and while his eyes remained strongly and tightly shut, he turned around.

…..

“Teeeheee!!” Marsha giggled, and Gavin jumped. Her laughter was so odd in the heavy silence, and he hadn’t been expecting to hear the high-pitched squeal of joy that followed after her laugh.

“Sweetie,” her husband purred, “calm down, it’s not like this is the first time we’ve seen two men kissing.”

Jesus fucking God…what the fuck kind of a situation had they landed themselves into?!

Gavin knew Nines was furious; he could practically hear the rage and contempt radiating off him, even though he hadn’t opened his eyes to even look at the android, really. Looking would just hurt too much; he’d landed them both in this mess to begin with, as Nines had correctly spewed earlier.

…...

It’d grown silent again, and Gavin hated it. Did Marsha and Charles _really_ have to be here for this?!?! Why??!

…..

He knew he was leaning into Nines, but he paused when he heard Charles whispering to his wife.

“Yes, I know they’re a pretty handsome, hot pair, but come on, sweets; I just told you that this isn’t the first time we’ve seen two men about to make out.”

……

His nerves!!! Fuck!! They were on fire!!! The room was spinning!! The world was going to explode!!!

Breathing in and out through his nose almost violently, Gavin tried inhaling the scent of the chapstick, but it was no use; it had no real scent.

…..

Closer, closer…he could almost feel Nines’ lips…

“Noooo cheating,” Marsha sang out, and then added, “ooooh!! By the way, anytime we guess the wrong flavor, we have to take a shot!! Sorry, I forgot to mention that before!!”

Leaping into the air, Gavin screamed out, “MARSHA!! GOD DAMN!!” How much more of this capricious crap was he supposed to take?!? How could he take it all?!

Charles chuckled, clearly amused by Gavin’s outburst more than anyone else.

Once the room was silent again, Gavin swallowed, and that alone was the loudest thing to hear, currently. He felt absolutely mortified, but he kept his eyes closed as he leaned in to where he assumed Nines was…and he smashed his nose right against something rough.

Pulling back as he winced in pain, Gavin growled, “The hell?!”

“Sorry,” Nines apologized swiftly, “I also had my eyes closed…”

……

That made it even worse; it was like a real romantic kiss!!!!

While Gavin was freaking out even more due to this recent revelation, Nines gently brushed against him. At first, his hair fell into Gavin’s forehead and eyes, but the detective didn’t jump or move back away from it. He had to do this; he had to play this damn role. God damn this all to hell.

…..

And just like that, in the span of not even a complete two seconds, Nines’ lips brushed along Gavin’s, and then were gone.

Good.

Already rejoicing, Gavin opened his eyes and blinked. Nines was now facing forward, though his head and neck were craned down slightly, almost as if he were some little child being scolded and scorned for doing something quite bad. Marsha and Charles cackled, clearly having the time of their lives as they pointed at both Nines and Gavin.

“You two are hilarious,” Charles blabbed out in an uncontrollable tirade, “I haven’t been this entertained in a loooooooong time.”

“Teeeheee! Me neither!” Marsha rang out as she nuzzled her husband and stared at Gavin and Nines with a lovey-dovey expression all over her face.

Meanwhile, Gavin was _not_ feeling ‘lovey-dovey’, and he fought against the urge to wipe his lips. Truthfully, he hadn’t felt much of anything when Nines ‘kissed’ him, and since there was hardly any contact or pressure involved, Gavin immediately dismissed any notion that this was a kiss. It just wasn’t. None of the appropriate behaviors that entailed a kiss had been involved, and thus, it wasn’t a damn kiss!! It never would be!!

Convinced, he blinked again, and he inhaled as sharply as he could. He still had to guess what the hell this flavor was, but he couldn’t do that easily. Unfortunately, as gentle as Nines’ ‘kiss’ had been, it hadn’t left Gavin with much room to think and have a clue as to what the mysterious flavor happened to be. He was truly stuck.

Not wanting to drag it out, he just blurted, “I think it was strawberry.”

Staring down at the chapstick resting in Charles’ half-closed hand, Nines replied, “No; it was banana.”

_Well...fuck. _

Batting her eyelashes sweetly at him, Marsha’s voice rang out, “I knooow whooo’s driiiinking fiiiirst!!!”

Gavin mumbled something under his breath, but hurriedly drank. The more he could drink, the more he could get intoxicated. The more intoxicated he became, the faster and easier it would be to forget this shit ever happened.

Yes…that was a healthy plan, for sure.

Nodding at him while her husband closed his eyes and turned away, Marsha hissed, “Okay, Gavin! Pick for meeee!!”

Rolling his eyes, Gavin stretched his hand into the bag wordlessly. Jesus…there really were a lot of chapsticks, and by his estimates wildly, there had to be at least another twenty or so…God…there _had_ to be a way he could fuck off out of here and excuse himself, right?!?

Mind spinning in agony, Gavin felt his heart racing. Not wanting to drag this senseless, noisome torture out any longer, he finally grabbed one of the chapsticks from the blasted, damned pile.

Just as he’d been about to flash it before Marsha’s eager eyes, the jazz music turned off. In its place, however, a gentle orchestra was playing, and Gavin faintly heard the lovely sound of the talented voice of Frank Sinatra singing out in the room ever so sweetly.

_You’re just too good to be true,_

_I can’t take my eyes off of you,_

_You’d be like heaven to touch,_

_I wanna hold you so much…_

_At long last love has arrived,_

_And I thank God I’m alive…_

Hadn’t he heard this somewhere else before?!? Yes, technically, it counted for being on the radio, but Gavin could’ve sworn that he’d heard this song somewhere else recently…

Shaking his head, he assumed it was just the alcohol making him imagine weird shit.

_You’re just too good to be true,_

_Can’t take my eyes off of you,_

_Pardon the way that I stare,_

_There’s nothing else to compare,_

_The sight of you leaves me weak,_

_There are no words left to speak,_

_But if you feel like I feel,_

_Please let me know that it’s real,_

_You’re just too good to be true,_

_Can’t take my eyes off of you…_

“Stop zoning out, Gavin!” Marsha whined petulantly, and she shoved him lightly in the arm, trying to get his attention. Well, it worked; Gavin snapped out of leaving his attention to the music, but it still soothed and comforted him anyway. Proudly holding up the chapstick for Marsha to see, he made sure to also reveal the label on it to Nines before he held it out to Marsha openly.

Snatching it clean out of his hand, she hurriedly doused and smeared it all over her lips excitedly. If Gavin didn’t know any better, he would’ve assumed that she was just frankly too eager to make out with her husband, more than likely.

When she was ready, she tossed the chapstick back at Gavin, and he caught it deftly in a fist before clenching it tightly shut around the chapstick.

“Baaaaabe,” Marsha howled and cooed, and Charles lowered his hand from his eyes and leaned in. Unlike Gavin and Nines, however, Charles and Marsha really seemed to know how to sense one another close-by, even with their eyes closed.

They pecked chastely, but apparently, that wasn’t enough.

Reeling back slightly, Charles stared up at the ceiling, clearly deeply in thought as he took his time with guessing. “Hmm,” he hummed, “this one’s kinda tricky…”

Winking, Marsha leaned in super close to him, and in one swoop, she cupped his cheeks in her hands and drew their faces close together. “Then kiss me again and find out…” her lips then descended on his firmly, and in a split second, they _really_ went at it.

Almost feeling as bashful as the first time he’d seen porn, Gavin’s face flushed deep pink. Charles and Marsha were practically licking each other right there in the open like they didn’t care at all, and the detective was stunned from watching it. He knew he should’ve ceased looking, but he just couldn’t; not with the passion and intensity brewing between the married couple.

Coughing at first to get their attention when he’d had more than his fill, Nines shifted awkwardly. That didn’t work, so he eventually grumbled out, “Err, can you guess, now?”

Lips smacking obscenely, Marsha and Charles broke away from one another, finally.

With a lazy expression painted across his face, Charles held up a finger as he announced boldly, “It’s peach!!”

Marsha hooted and howled in their clear victory. Gavin would’ve joined her, only he remembered now that it was his turn…fuck.

Sinking back, he stared intently at the damn bag that was now the bane of his existence, while Nines closed his eyes and turned away slightly.

Beckoning him with her index finger, Marsha had already pocketed the chapstick flavor.

Great.

Peeking at it reluctantly, he saw that it was bubble gum.

With a strained sigh, he applied it as best as he could, though he wasn’t completely fond of his lips being greased up to the point where they felt too damn moist. Gross.

Clearing his throat, he found he didn’t even want to bother with calling Nines’ name. The android knew what to do, anyway, and in a hurry, he turned around and swooped down over Gavin. However, as aggressive as his motions had initially been, yet again, Nines hardly even tapped Gavin’s lips with his own for half a second. This time, it had indeed been a much shorter ‘kiss’.

Good.

Immediately, Nines cried out, “Grapefruit!!”

Gavin did a double-take. “Nines?! What the fuck, man!?” Why had he guessed so inaccurately for, anyway?!

Marsha screamed, “Aaaaah!!! Gavin now has to drink because Nines can’t!!!”

Chanting, Charles hooted, “Take the shot for your partner, Gavin!!”

Muttering to himself angrily in disbelief, Gavin’s eyes squinted at Nines and his face looked pained. As he grimaced at the RK900 for his mess-up, Gavin wondered whether Nines had done this on purpose, or if it’d been a result due to stress.

Yes…it had to have been stress. Carlos Ortiz’s android didn’t react to stress well, but thankfully, Connor had handled that interrogation relatively well two years ago. Unfortunately, Connor wasn’t here to handle this stressful situation in order for things to go over much better than they currently were.

To his own dismay, Gavin found himself drinking a shot of whiskey when Marsha brought it over for him from the mini bar near the back of the room.

So be it.

“Now,” Marsha cried out as she sat up straight, “we’re going to go through that round once again until we don’t have any chapstick left!!”

Joy.

Wanting to get it over with, Gavin volunteered, “Can Nines and I go first, please?”

Nodding, Charles cried out, “Go for it!”

“Sure!” Marsha exclaimed as her bright eyes grew larger, “but try to make it sexy this time, Gavin!!”

Turning pale, the detective rasped, “What?!”

Nudging his wife, Charles hissed, “Sorry about that, Gavin; I think Marsha’s already a biiiiiit drunk.”

“I’ll say!” Gavin roared, but otherwise didn’t argue any further. He truly wanted to get this done with, so he nodded over at Nines, “Gonna close my damn eyes, so let Charles pick for you.”

Nines didn’t say anything, and Gavin took that cue to close his eyes. Praying Charles would hurry the fuck up, he heard the familiar shuffling of the bag, he heard Marsha squealing and giggling, and then it grew silent.

“Got it,” Nines and Charles simultaneously rang out, and then Nines began applying the damn chapstick.

All the while, Gavin slowly rocked himself back and forth on his ass, hoping to get his shit together and guess it properly this time. He really didn’t want to be drunk for once in his damn life, especially not around such a fucked up situation. There was no telling what else would happen and how much crazier the game would get, otherwise. And quite frankly, he didn’t want Marsha to get any other ideas…

“Gavin.”

Hearing his first name spoken by Nines as the alcohol in his system slowly lulled him and pulled him into a forced state of calm, Gavin knew he was feeling a tad angry, but there wasn’t much he could do about. Plus, he didn’t feel _true_ anger in the sense that he wanted to beat someone to a bloody pulp. The alcohol must’ve really started to take effect, after all.

Once again, Gavin leaned into Nines, and at first, the tips of their noses brushed.

“Aaaaw, an Eskimo Kiss!” Marsha cooed, and Gavin did his best to ignore her.

This time, as the music replayed itself, Gavin pressed his lips against Nines’, first. Again, it was just a tap, and as he heard Marsha hissing in displeasure and disapproval, he leaned away so he could try and place the scent.

……

Only, it really was impossible. Yes, it was sweet, it smelled like candy, and it also had another distinct flavor, but he wasn’t going to dip in for another ‘kiss’ and check.

With phony confidence, he announced, “It’s cotton candy!!”

Seeing Nines’ pained grimace was enough to send him flying off the handle in anger, and he already made a grab for his alcohol.

“It was pink lemonade,” Nines sighed in exhaustion.

“Fuck off,” Gavin murmured as he drowned himself in his alcohol and stewed.

“Our turn!” Charles sang, and Gavin was all too happy to point at Nines.

Reaching into the bag while Marsha waited with her eyes closed, Nines selected the next one for Charles. Once he placed it on both his lips, he made small kissing noises, and it drew his wife towards him immediately.

Again, Gavin and Nines had to literally sit there and watch Marsha and Charles making out. It was growing lewder by the minute, however. Charles dipped Marsha over his lap, and he sucked her lower lip deeply as she moaned gently in the back of her throat.

Nines’ LED light went red, and he hissed, “Okay, that should be good!”

Suddenly, it occurred to Gavin that perhaps Nines was stressed because of the way Marsha and Charles were expressing their affections for one another. The anxious android likely came to be this nervous because of these intimate displays, although if Gavin was being truthful, it was even disturbing him. It wasn’t because Marsha was even his ex-girlfriend; he just hated public displays of affection. Witnessing how Marsha and Charles pawed at each other in need wasn’t the best thing to see, and even he himself had to cringe when he saw the more-than-obvious bodily reaction Charles had after he let his wife go.

Righting herself back up, she sighed sweetly through glazed eyes, “It was…cherry?”

Charles snickered, “No, sweets; cranberry.”

“Oh,” she didn’t seem too upset, and she merely reached for her drink at the same time her husband did. They clicked their glasses together and laughed, looking ever-so-comfortable as Marsha nuzzled and leaned her back against her husband’s chest. He drooped an arm around her shoulders as he sniffed her hair, and it seemed like for the longest time, they’d forgotten about Gavin and Nines.

…..

But Gavin knew it wasn’t wise to celebrate too early. In no time at all, Marsha wiped her lips, and she grinned playfully at Gavin. “Ready?”

“Yeah…” that was a lie, but he didn’t have any other choice.

Picking for him as she dove with her hand in the bag, she eventually yanked out an orange colored chapstick. Gavin already had covered his lips with it before she even noticed due to her slowed state, and he grunted at Nines.

Swiveling himself around, Nines leaned into Gavin as he planted his hands palms-down on the fluffy carpet. The tiniest of kisses had been delivered to Gavin’s lips, and as the detective stared on at Nines in fear, the android moved away as he lowered his head down significantly.

LED light flashing yellow, he spat, “Orange.”

“Yaaaaaaaay!” Marsha cheered, while Gavin visibly relaxed significantly.

“Good work, Nines!” Charles congratulated, and the android nodded curtly, not really offering anything else.

Shaking his head, Gavin whispered to himself, “Thank God the son of a bitch got one thing right, at least…”

~ѰѰѰѰѰ~

Everyone was nearly fucking drunk after the next round. Gavin had failed considerably, as did Nines, but unlike the two of them, Marsha and Charles didn’t seem to mind their own failure. On the contrary; they embraced it. Gavin wondered if they were purposefully making mistakes and failing just to be handsy and ‘intimate’, but he couldn’t really ask; Charles and Marsha were already far too wasted to be talking coherently and logically.

Majority of the things they said to one another now consisted of childish and almost baby-like-talk. They resorted to husky whispers and a limited word-choice. From what Gavin could hear, they would only call each other ‘sexy’, ‘hot’, ‘cute’, and ‘love’. Their words were slurred, but sometimes, they would compliment each other, though it was always just heady, childish banter that never went anywhere or reached a specific point.

“You’re _soooo_ beautiful, my love,” Charles purred down at Marsha while she lay half-sprawled on the carpet.

“Noooo, youuuu areee, babe,” she cooed back, running her hands and fingers softly through his hair.

Upon hearing this comment, Charles didn’t need the excuse of chapstick to thoroughly kiss his wife. But if only he left it at kissing…unfortunately, he didn’t. He was really adamant about taking things too far, and Marsha just let him. Wrapping her arms around his neck tightly, she pulled her husband flush against her own body, and she let out a series of licentious, wanton moans. Charles didn’t stop with his onslaught of kisses, and he ran his fingers through Marsha’s dark hair, wildly messing it up in the process.

Practically grinding himself against Marsha’s slender body, the man nearly was about to touch and grope her breasts, when Nines proclaimed loudly enough for all to hear, “IT’S OUR TURN!! YOU GUYS HAD ENOUGH OF KISSING! FUCK!!!”

“NINES!” Gavin roared, but it was no use.

Springing up and adjusting their clothing, the married couple nodded.

Marsha’s lips were swollen and well-kissed, and her lip gloss was now long gone as she muttered lazily, “Ooookaaayyy, give usssss a shoooow…”

Gavin had wanted to say: ‘fuck no’, but instead, he found that Charles had already motioned for him to close his eyes or turn away. Obediently, he saw blackness as he closed his eyes and dug his fingernails into his palms.

_Fuck this day…fuck this night. Fuck it all._

As he silently clawed at himself, Nines already went through the motions of applying the chapstick Charles had selected, and he was close to Gavin. The shorter male could feel it as his shoulder knocked into Nines’ strong, broad sternum. Far too exhausted and tipsy to move or do anything about it, Gavin immediately just turned to Nines.

Time to get this over with.

Lips touched, but still, Gavin had no idea what the hell this flavor was. Now, he was infuriated. He reacted and showed it by leaning in and brushing his lips against Nines’ one more time, but that still hadn’t solved the problem. With tension and frustration mounting slowly in his system, Gavin felt his heart and brain light up on fire. He couldn’t smell it, and no matter how many times he licked his lips, there was no distinct flavor or taste. Once or twice, he caught himself nearly reaching up with his hands to grab Nines’ face for a deeper kiss, but thankfully, at the last minute, he would sink his fingernails deeper and sharply into his skin as a warning and a reminder not to do such a stupid thing.

But how else was he going to guess correctly!?!? He truly didn’t want more alcohol, and Gavin didn’t want to get as drunk as Marsha and Charles and risk doing or saying something extremely stupid. Plus, he was getting too damn old for hangovers, he figured.

He had to get this one right!!!

Yet again, he leaned into Nines, and he heard Marsha whispering, “Noooo sniffing and smellllliiiing…”

_Bitch. _

So he didn’t sniff. He wasn’t a cheater, but he hadn’t ‘kissed’ Nines nearly enough to be able to tell what the damn flavor was….

Fine. Fuck it. He’d had enough.

With a tiny growl of sheer annoyance at his own ineptitude, he slid his hands up along Nines’ neck. Fingers grabbing along the pallor of the android’s long neck, Gavin sank his fingertips into Nines’ cheeks when he reached them, and he roughly and violently yanked Nines forward in one jerking motion. Lips crashed against lips almost bruising, and Gavin’s tongue poked out like a serpent’s. Sliding and slipping his warm tongue over the seam of the android’s firm lips stretched out in a line, Gavin didn’t stop until his foggy brain-in spite of all the alcohol-recognized what the heck the flavor was, now.

It was rather faint, but he licked those lips that had the stuff smeared so heavily and thickly, and he could taste it perfectly.

He got it!! It was watermelon!!!

Feeling lighter than ever, Gavin made a move to fling himself off of Nines and rejoice in his triumph. He’d wanted to cry out in sheer joy and happiness, knowing that the damn game was coming to an end, and knowing that they’d won. He’d wanted to sing songs of gratitude and praise for himself that he wouldn’t have to drink himself into a stupor, and he wanted to proclaim and announce to the world that he could still be in control over his senses and functions in spite of it all.

But all that power and that sudden surge of success and pride had been taken away from him and chipped away at so cruelly and viciously by one stupid, little thing Nines just did.

Yes, it was a little thing, indeed, but to Gavin, it was the biggest thing in the world.

Nines had flicked his tongue over Gavin’s lips in return, much in the same way Gavin had done to his android partner. It was done much more subtly, but it was still there, like a faint whisper in the night, or a tiny ripple along the clear surface of a body of water.

It was still there; it had still happened, however.

Gavin froze for a moment, thinking that in his slightly inebriated state, he’d somehow imagined it, but then it happened, _again._

As drunk as he was, there was no mistaking this gesture for anything else.

Nines had licked him back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 😶🤯


	24. I’m Rubber, You’re Glue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tenshun.

_I love you baby and if it’s quite all right,_

_I need you baby to warm the lonely nights,_

_I love you baby, trust in me when I say…_

It’d happened. He hadn’t been dreaming, and he wasn’t crazy. Nines had indeed tried tonguing him and touching his lips with his tongue even more so than before. As the music potently blared on in the background, Gavin felt his ears ringing, and his vision was blurring.

_Oh pretty baby don’t bring me down I pray,_

_Oh pretty baby now that I found you, stay,_

_And let me love you baby, let me love you…_

Snapping his eyes open, he’d meant to lash out and punch Nines as hard as he could in the jaw, even if it meant risking busting his own hand open, when he saw that the darkly clad android had already pulled himself away and was moving back, still…

…So…he’d…he’d imagined it???

Gavin was willing to go along with the assumption that he’d somehow fabricated the whole thing, but there unfortunately seemed to be two major things that stuck out to him going against the idea that this was all just in his imagination. Aside from the fact that the music had stopped playing, Gavin noticed that Marsha and Charles both had gaped at him before gaping away at Nines in pure awe. Secondly, Gavin definitely felt that his lips and chin were rather wet. As the gentle gust and breeze of the heat from the vents blew up past him, he felt his skin feeling slightly cold and damp…

Yes…Nines had seriously licked him right back…how like a damn dog.

Peeking over surreptitiously at him, Gavin saw Nines inching further away, as if trying to pretend the whole thing never happened to begin with.

Well…now, he _really_ wanted to yell and scream at Nines, but he couldn’t; not overtop of the sounds of more kissing, lips sloshing and smacking over lips, followed by soft, drunken moaning emanating from both Marsha and Charles. Evidently, both inebriated adults had somehow gotten encouraged to up the anti in terms of their passionate kissing and embracing. It seemed that they’d been inspired and encouraged by Gavin and Nines, and now, they too were sliding tongues into each other’s mouths hotly and quite lewdly. The prurient acts and displays were seriously spiraling out of control, and at a highly rapid pace.

As they engaged in quite the passionate, heated, sexually charged battle, Nines and Gavin gaped at them for a moment. However, both the stunned android and the shocked human male weren’t exactly petrified due to the levels of concupiscence and wanton displays Marsha and Charles presented. Both Gavin and Nines were still truly wondering just what on Earth had transpired between themselves rather than showing too much attention to the couple practically clawing at each other in wild, abandoned need.

Gavin’s eyes were slightly dewy, suddenly, but it was an effect suffered from not having blinked in a full minute. Nines seemed incapable of all thought, speech, and movement, but he sneered viciously as soon as he witnessed Charles sliding his hands down his spouse’s chest to cup her well-endowed breasts. Responding in kind, Marsha suddenly gripped her husband’s ass, and she wrapped her right leg around his waist strongly.

Enough was enough.

“I think we should g-get going,” Gavin snipped out angrily, “y’know, since you guys are apparently about seconds away f-from screwin’ each other right here on the floor.”

Nines was already grabbing for his trench coat, and he eagerly slid it on just as Marsha let out one last ardent moan.

“Hey!! Did you hear me?!” Gavin barked in a bombastic manner, no longer really caring if this was too rude. No guest had to put up with this from their hosts, and he’d had his fill of the public displays of groping, grinding, and licking to last him a damn lifetime and a half.

With a huff, Marsha got herself up off the floor with some help that came in the form of a gentle push from Charles once they’d untangled limbs. They both readjusted their clothing and fixed their hair while eyeing Gavin wearily.

Breathing with some minor difficulty, Charles panted out softly, “Sorry, guys.”

Marsha however didn’t seem to be in favor of apologizing. Crossing her arms over her chest, she hissed icily, “What’s wrong with you two?”

Completely floored by such a random, brazen question spewed forth, Gavin cried out with wide eyes, “Excuse me?!”

“You h-heard,” Marsha panted out, rosy cheeks indicative of her still-heightened state of arousal, “you guys just can’t suddenly get everyone hot and bothered with that stuff we just saw and then get mad at us for feeling the tension here!”

What the fuck…this was suddenly way too weird, and Gavin was way too damn drunk for this shit.

Hanging on desperately to the last remnants of his self-control, Gavin whispered, Look, i-if you guys a-are into some weird swinger-foursome-shit, it’s your own personal business, and e-everyone has their own fetish, but—”

“Woah, woah, woah, Gavin,” Charles held out his hands while his eyes were as round as tiny saucers, “what’re you talkin’ about, man?!”

His wife also shared an almost identical glare, and she sat up on her knees to be at an even closer eye-level with Gavin. Clearly offended, she pushed back her messy, wild mop of long hair and tsked in urgency.

“I’m not sure if this some twisted joke you just came up with, Gavin,” she ground out as the tension in her jaw, temples, and face became apparent, “but this is silly.”

Even Charles looked thoroughly disgusted with the way and turn the conversation had taken. He glowered at Gavin so intently that he seemed a few years older, suddenly, and rather menacing. It was a complete 180 shift compared to the sweet, well-mannered ‘Charles Driver’ earlier that night in the restaurant. This version of Charles currently seemed beyond fed-up with Gavin and Nines, and he shifted irritably as his wife slowly rose to her feet.

Eyes cast down, she mumbled, “I think you and your _partner_, Gavin, clearly got the wrong idea here.”

That was a loaded statement, but Gavin was far too drunk to argue right now. To form a coherent, cohesive argument would require far more lucidity than he could muster, and he was far too exhausted and irate to think clearly. That was a definite ‘no go’, and he was comfortable enough with leaving it at this. Plus, he didn’t want things to get ‘violent’ should Charles deem it necessary enough to defend his wife’s honor.

Fuck it.

Holding out his hands, Gavin sighed, “Guess so, Marsha.”

A loss was a loss, and Gavin was more than willing to cut his losses and get the fuck out of there if it meant at least parts of his dignity could go along with himself.

As exasperation nearly rolled off him in heavy, thick waves, Charles pushed out almost reluctantly, “I think it’s best for you two to leave.”

Gavin couldn’t argue with that at all.

Nodding, he grabbed his jacket off the sofa, and he stood as tall and as proudly as he could. “Well, I guess we overstayed our welcome, Nines,” he announced as he scoffed at both Charles and Marsha, “time to make ourselves scarce, then.”

The tall android also put on the rest of his clothes, but he stopped on the way out of the living room to take a brief moment in order to bow his head apologetically at Charles and Marsha. Gavin almost yanked him away from the couple, eyes burning with rage and contempt as he eventually reached the front door and slipped into his boots.

Charles called behind him, “I’ll walk you both out—”

“No need, man,” came Gavin’s waspish reply, and it rooted the other man firmly in his spot. He didn’t bother to approach and advance further, and as he stared at Gavin and Nines with a rather sullen look upon his face, Gavin slowly opened the front door of their home.

Pausing before it opened all the way, he peeked over his shoulder past Charles, and he saw Marsha’s angry eyes peering at him over her husband’s broad frame. One look from her was enough to send the message loud and clear to Gavin.

They had to leave.

Not even bothering them with an ebullient ‘goodnight’, Gavin stepped outside into the dark, the snow, the cold, and he almost forgot that Nines was following him into such a world.

~ѰѰѰѰѰ~

By the time Gavin and Nines reached Nines’ apartment to drop him off and call it a night, Gavin realized he was frankly way too exhausted and still drunk to drive back home on his own. They should’ve thought this out better, but Gavin didn’t want Nines knowing where he lived, for one, and two, his apartment may have been cat piss and shit-free, now, but it still wasn’t all that neat and tidy like Nines’ was.

…Plus, he was far beyond lazy to drive back.

Thinking he’d probably drive off towards the closest motel for the night, Gavin waited in Nines’ parking lot as the android slowly started to exit the vehicle from the driver’s seat. Midway, he paused, and he turned and scanned Gavin in less than a few seconds.

With a sneer, he hissed, “You reek of booze, Detective.”

Subsiding with a huff of anger, Gavin shot Nines a look that promised retribution for his little comment. “No sh-shit, Nines,” he grumbled, “th-that’s why I’m g-goin’, now.”

Shaking his head in obvious signs of disagreement, Nines protested, “You can’t drive home inebriated while smelling like a brewery, Detective; it’s unsafe, and you could get fined for it.”

Nines was right, but Gavin was in no mood to admit that to the android, and thus feeding into his ego. Instead, he planned on how he was going to take up the painstaking task of locating a decent enough motel for the night. Last time he checked, his phone had very low battery…

“I’ll think of somethin’, Nines,” he answered all too quickly, trying to get out of the passenger seat and switch up the seats with Nines. He really wanted to escape the oppressive atmosphere of the night and its events.

Nines didn’t seem to want to leave himself open for Gavin’s ire, so he gave the other pedantic male an incredulous look just to communicate in some way that he didn’t abide by this idea of Gavin being left to his own devices until he thought of ‘something’. That wasn’t good enough.

“Reed,” Nines hissed, and only when Gavin briefly looked at him did he press on. “You can’t drive in your current state, and I’m not going to let you.”

Gavin frowned, “Did you just—”

The android nodded desperately, concern welling up inside him inexorably. “You shouldn’t endanger yourself and others, which is what you’d be doing if left on the road while still intoxicated.”

Of course, emancipating Gavin from whatever ailed him wasn’t going to be an easy task, and Nines had already conceded that point. At the very least, while he was certain he couldn’t ‘help’ Gavin in the ways he likely needed to be helped, he could perhaps ‘pave’ the way for something more civil and tolerable.

Voice as smooth as silk, Nines spoke out to him, “Let’s go.”

Glaring at him, Gavin’s head swayed before he asked the inevitable, “Where’re we goin’?”

Gesturing with a head nod, Nines grunted at his most reviled colleague, “In my apartment, Reed, where else?”

…..

Nines could’ve stated they would go scuba diving, bird watching, skipping rope, or setting a building on fire without saving old ladies trapped inside it, and it wouldn’t matter. Gavin’s currently facial expression depicted enough fear, resentment, and concern, that it was all one and the same type of a response.

“Nah, I’m good,” he still managed to answer anyway, further and deeper cementing it into Nines’ head that he wasn’t interested in this current prospect of a conversation.

Not letting go due to genuine concern for Gavin’s safety, Nines inched towards the edge of his seat, leaning his body towards the passenger one. “There’s no choice here, Reed,” snatching the car keys in a hand, he held them up before Gavin’s eyes, flashing them like a prize. He then placed them deeply within one of his trench coat pockets while grinning triumphantly.

Scowling like his life depended on it, Gavin’s entire face grew beet red as he sneered and spat out fussily, “You should try out for Nirvana some time, Nines.”

“Reed—”

“I don’t need your help, Nines,” Gavin argued quickly in spite of the fact that his speech was rather slurred. “Just go home and I will, too.”

Nines hadn’t been expecting a sophisticated set of responses from Gavin, so he wasn’t altogether that badly alarmed and that much shocked or disappointed. Gavin clearly didn’t want to ask for help, but Nines knew this wasn’t a matter of what Gavin wanted or didn’t want; this was a matter of morality and safety, and he truly wanted for Gavin to be safe and sound than injured and in trouble. After all, they could argue about it all later when Gavin was sober, possibly.

Wrapping a hand gently around Gavin’s elbow, Nines began tugging him away from his seatbelt urgently. Initially, Gavin didn’t struggle, but as soon as he noticed Nines trying to undo the seatbelt, he roared and fought back.

“Stop it, Reed,” Nines warned, “I’m only trying to undo this.”

“Dude,” Gavin growled thickly, “you licked my fuckin’ face back there…”

Ah. So the unrestricted, open, brazen, and aggressive Gavin Reed was back due to being drunk and belligerent, after all.

Not too thrilled about being put on the spot, Nines merely hissed softly, “So did you.”

Shaking his head wildly, Gavin cried, “I was doin’ it for the game, Nines…you were doin’ it because—”

The seatbelt was unbuckled with a loud ‘snap’, and Gavin was free. However, rather than leaving as Nines originally suspected he would, instead, the android found himself practically nose-to-nose with Gavin Reed. As the angry detective glared him down, Nines leaned back marginally. He truly was unable to predict what the emotionally charged and inebriated human was going to do, but he created some distance between their bodies in case something drastic happened.

Eyes half-lidded slits, Gavin grumbled, “Are you only helpin’ me tonight because we nearly ate each other’s face?”

Glowering at him for uttering such an idiotic statement, Nines chided, “What a stupid question to ask, Reed.” Shifting in his seat, he mumbled, “Is compassion _that_ pandering to you and so foreign that it has to come attached with a price tag??”

Sniggering, Gavin rolled his eyes and shook his head, “Maaan,” he coughed as he tilted his head back and shut his eyes for a brief moment. “I swear, Nines, if there was a sport for ‘mental gymnastics’, dude, you’d bring home U.S.A. gold _every_ fuckin’ Olympics!”

Understanding the implications and symbolism of that statement, Nines merely yanked Gavin forward again as he wrapped one long arm around the back of his neck, and one around his waist firmly. “Can you get out of the car on your own, or should I carry you like an infant?” he asked his question with more attitude and bite than necessary, though only due to how much Gavin’s previous comment had affected him.

“I c-can walk, calm your ass down,” came Gavin’s snippy reply after he shoved Nines’ limbs off himself. All Nines then did was hold open the car door for Gavin, though his hand remained outstretched, cautious of a fall anyway.

Together, they walked inside the apartment building, and Gavin yawned a few times on the way up as they took the elevator.

“It would’ve been easier for me to go to a motel, Nines,” Gavin groused once the elevator stopped on the floor Nines’ apartment was located on.

Glaring at him while they cautiously stepped out, Nines spat back, “Your toothbrush, toothpaste, bedding, as well as a fresh change of clothes are already in my apartment, Reed, what difference does it make?”

“True,” Gavin mumbled, nearly tripping over his own feet once Nines unlocked his door and ushered him inside. When Gavin took off his heavy boots and walked around aimlessly in the front hallway, Nines stared at him for a moment, just taking time to study the inebriated man for a while.

Gavin was pacing without any purpose or a sense of direction, and Nines peered down at his feet, noticing that his socks were somewhat filthy, and he still reeked of alcohol…

Mind made up right then, he grunted, “Take a shower before you go to bed, Reed.”

“Wha?” Gavin muttered inelegantly, “why?”

“You stink,” Nines lied, “that’s why.” Truthfully, he couldn’t smell anything other than alcohol on Gavin, but he still wanted to be a little petty and rude anyway.

Pausing, Gavin lifted his arms, and he sniffed at his left armpit. Recoiling, he grunted, “Shit, I k-kinda do…sorry, Nines.”

“No need for apologizing,” Nines drawled on lazily as he pushed Gavin towards the bathroom and turned on the light. “Your body’s…natural reactions can hardly be controlled,” the didactic android explained carefully, trying not to leave room for nasty implications that a drunk Gavin Reed could take in the wrong way. Thankfully, Gavin didn’t comment much as Nines brought to him a clean towel, a fresh change of clothes, as well as helped him take off his jacket, at least.

Staring away from the swaying detective, Nines muttered irritably, “I hope you can handle the rest on your own, but I’ll be outside if you need anything—”

Gavin reached out with both hands, and with a mighty shove, he pushed Nines hard in the chest. The android stumbled back over his own feet, but in a few seconds, he recovered and held onto the edge of the bathroom door while glaring and scowling away heatedly at Gavin.

“Thanks, Reed,” Nines spat. “I’ll be leaving, then.”

Winking sloppily at him, Gavin hiccupped as he hissed thinly, “Appreciate it, babe.”

It literally took everything Nines had not to yell, swear, and put Gavin in his right place, no matter how much he wanted to, and no matter how badly he felt and thought that Gavin needed to hear it. He wasn’t one to abuse another, and he wasn’t going to attack Gavin when he was already at a relatively low point in his life.

All Nines could do was scowl away at Gavin while the other man seemed to gloat and purr at him in sheer delight that would’ve caused any gluttonous person to weep from insurmountable bouts of pride.

Gavin was truly insatiable.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I smell something raunchy coming up. 
> 
> Just sayin'.


	25. Heart, Mind, and Body

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *WARNING, SOME smut/naughtiness*

Nines couldn’t believe he’d practically been tossed unceremoniously out of his own apartment, but he kind of had when Gavin booted him from the bathroom. Well, Nines could understand the desire for privacy and such, but Gavin could’ve technically requested that in a nicer way…

Having nothing to do while the detective cleaned himself in the other room, Nines eventually decided to take it upon himself to pack Gavin’s alcohol-smelling clothes into a basket and take it down for a quick wash in the laundry room. Thanks to the umbriferous atmosphere the dimly lit laundry room provided, Nines wasn’t really questioned as to what he was doing down there in the first place, even though two nosy old ladies who lived a floor above him were also washing their clothes at this ungodly hour of the night.

Finishing his task as quickly as he could due to placing the clothes in for a ‘speed wash’, Nines found himself back in his apartment in no time, and Gavin had already finished his shower.

Good.

But the ‘not-so-good’ part was that rather than finding Gavin in bed or at the very least preparing for it, Nines discovered that the detective had yet again helped himself to some alcohol that had remained left over in the freezer in the kitchen.

Damn it.

As Gavin tipped his head back and downed the ice-cold liquid, swallowing it greedily, Nines let out an annoyed roar as he stormed over towards the human and snatched the bottle right out of his hands. To his horror, he found that Gavin had almost finished the contents halfway…

“Wonderful, Detective Reed,” the irritated android sneered, “I leave you alone for not even ten minutes, and you’ve already turned back to the very substance we’ve tried to clear out of your damn system in the first place.” With a head shake, he growled, “Phenomenal fucking job.”

Gavin was dressed in a wet-stained white workout tank top and black shorts. His bare feet slid a little as he tried righting himself up. His hair was still partly drenched, as was his upper torso, hence why his white shirt was matted to his chest and mostly wet also. Eyes widening slightly, he let out a tiny hiccup once he saw Nines.

“Sup, man?”

Not even answering him, Nines tipped the beer bottle upside down, and he poured it all down the kitchen sink. As the drain swallowed it all down, Gavin let out a pained gasp, and he squealed in protest as he threw himself at Nines wildly with his arms flailing.

“NOOOOOOOO!!!!”

“Silence!”

“NIIIIIIIIIINES!! WHAT THE FUUUUUUCK!??!”

Holding him back with a strong, firm hand, Nines kept Gavin away from trying to snatch the bottle back into his own hands. Fingers tried hooking onto the bottle, but it was no use; Gavin was too drunk, and therefore incapable of coordinating his fingers to even latch onto the bottle.

All he could do was pout and scream out, “Niiiineeesss! I paid m-m-money for thaaaat!!!”

“Oh really?” Nines snapped back sarcastically with a head tilt, “I thought you paid for this in chocolate kisses, Reed.”

Together, they watched as the last bits of the alcohol swirled and swished down the drain, completely gone and out of sight, now. Crumbling back in defeat, Gavin visibly deflated. His shoulders sank and caved in, and he looked absolutely regretful.

Not enjoying the sorrowful look upon his face, Nines set the now empty bottle down on the kitchen counter and rounded on him. Peering down at the disgruntled male with his yellow LED light first, he sneered, “You really need to find better coping mechanisms for whatever ails you, Reed.”

Not even taking a second, Gavin threw back with pure attitude, “And _y-yooouuu_ neeeed to m-mind your o-own businesssss!” He was back to being the drowsy, intoxicated Gavin Reed who could hardly even keep his balance on both feet.

Helping him before he crashed to the floor, Nines propped Gavin up against his side as he muttered, “Let’s just get you to bed, Reed; I don’t have the patience for this right now.”

As he was dragged down the hall towards the bedroom, Gavin hissed, “H-heeeey, meeee toooo, what’d’ya knooow?”

“This is grating, Detective,” Nines commented as he gently placed Gavin onto the center of the bed once they entered the room. It was rather dark due to the grey curtains they’d picked out and purchased now hanging before the windows, and Nines knew he couldn’t risk turning on the lights in case Gavin was slightly hung over. They would have to make do with the faint lights from the hallway, and as Gavin steadied himself back against the soft mattress and clean sheets, he let out a tiny sigh of relief. It seemed he’d completely forgotten about the wasted beer, but Nines was grateful for that. Less of a headache for himself to go through.

Now, he could relax, himself.

While Gavin lay back with his right arm draped over his forehead and eyes, Nines took refuge in his closet, and he quickly changed out of and hung up his brand-new clothes. Dressing into a simple, black long-sleeve shirt and black denim jeans with tears running along the back of the legs and kneecaps, Nines felt a lot more comfortable.

As he pressed the hem of his black shirt down over his abdomen, he heard soft snickering coming from behind himself.

“I s-s-saw your ass for a moment, th-there,” Gavin giggled immaturely, “nice underwear, maaaan.”

Glaring down at his bare feet, Nines hissed acerbically, “Yes, that tends to happen when one has nowhere to change due to a surprise guest occupying their bedroom.” Slamming the closet doors shut, he turned and scoffed at Gavin. He found that the other man had removed his arm from over his forehead and eyes, but he was staring at the dark ceiling rather than at Nines.

“Sleep, Reed,” Nines ordered, shifting himself towards the door, “I’m going to leave, and—”

“Noooo, don’t g-g-goooo,” Gavin argued, turning awkwardly onto his side as he grunted out with minor difficulty, “staaaay f-for a biiiiit.”

“Why do you need me in here?”

With a lazy shrug, Gavin answered, “Just because.”

“Not good enough, Reed,” Nines grumbled, but he still approached the edge of the bed, and very tentatively pressed down on the mattress with his right kneecap digging into the softness as he glared down at Gavin.

Rearing up suddenly, Gavin yelled out, “Staaaaay, fuck sakes, Nines!!!”

Not wanting Gavin to shriek out anymore, Nines acquiesced. Originally, he’d been seated on the edge of the bed, but apparently, that wasn’t good enough for a drunken Gavin Reed.

Waving him over, Gavin cooed, “I’ll sc-coot over, kay?”

Nines only offered him an apprehensive look, but didn’t say anything else as Gavin rolled closer to the opposite side of the bed. Patting the extra spot to his right, he said, “Come on.”

“I’d rather not, Reed,” Nines replied dully, and Gavin snorted at his answer.

Sniffling, he asked, “Why?”

…..

Not sure of what specifically he’d wanted to say, Nines merely offered, “Because you’re still drunk, and I don’t want to be in the way should you need to go to the bathroom and vomit.”

Gavin huffed, “Well, th-that’s wh-why you’re here…so I can barf on you, Nines.”

“Thanks, Reed.”

“Mhm,” Gavin yanked the android’s shirt collar aggressively, “c’mere.”

Initially struggling, Nines held himself back. Although Gavin was beyond drunk, he was still rather strong. Well, Nines didn’t want to risk fighting and making such strong, wild moves that Gavin would possibly end up feeling dizzy and sick as a result. It was just better to go along with this, even though it was so incredibly wrong.

In a jiffy, Nines found himself lying down on his back right next to Gavin’s side. Thankfully, there was a bit of space between their bodies, and they both stared up at the dark ceiling in silence.

Unfortunately, Gavin didn’t wish or want to remain silent for long.

“This is like a sleepover, huh?” he hiccupped out violently, causing the bed to shake a little.

Nines only stared at him from his peripheral vision, “You should sleep, Reed.”

“I’m w-wide awake,” Gavin hiccupped again, turning his head to the side as he inhaled sharply. “Bed’s comfy.”

“It is,” Nines replied back, “and you should try and enjoy it on your own—” a finger suddenly smacked over his lips, and Nines scowled down at it.

Gavin hissed, “Shh, juuuuust shush, Nines…I can’t th-think.”

Thinking didn’t seem to be a requirement in such a state as this, but Nines wasn’t in the mood to argue. Dislodging Gavin’s finger from his lips, he leaned back as he asked, “So, how was it revisiting your past, Reed?”

Slow on the uptake, Gavin grunted, “Huh?”

“Marsha,” Nines reminded him, “your ex-girlfriend. How did it feel seeing her after so long?” He particularly didn’t really care to know one way or another, but while he was there next to Gavin, he didn’t wish to spend the time in pure silence, either. Plus, the more he engaged the man in talking, the faster Gavin would fall asleep, hopefully.

With a sluggish eyeroll and sigh, Gavin cried out softly, “I dunno, man, I can’t r-really s-say a lot because me and her were never like alalalalaaaaa,” Gavin sang out by sticking his tongue out obscenely, evidently pantomiming making out with someone heavily while using tongue. He laughed afterwards, sighing as his head lolled to his right. Physically close to Nines, now, he sighed through heavy-lidded eyes, “I’m ha-happy she moved on.”

Slightly surprised to hear this, Nines pushed out, “I’m shocked…I thought you would be envious.”

“Nah,” Gavin disagreed, “sheee’s happier thi-this way, and I am t-too.”

There was a lot to Gavin Reed that Nines found he didn’t know. Almost shamefully, he discovered that all this time, he’d only drawn his conclusions about Gavin from what he’d observed, reflected on, and as much as he hated to admit it, but rumors had also played a huge role in this factor as well. He realized he truly knew next to nothing about Gavin, even though they’d worked together in the same place for two years. Nines considered this a bit of a failure on his part, as he usually was more thorough with his research and investigation than this. Had he simply turned more of a blind eye to Gavin simply because they didn’t really get along in the past??

Perhaps…perhaps not. Although he hoped he wasn’t that biased, Nines felt a little uneasy with himself while Gavin inched closer to him. When Gavin’s facial stubble rubbed against his neck, Nines broke out of his thoughts.

With an inquisitive eyebrow lifted, he hissed, “Reed, what’re you doing?”

“S’hot in here, Nines,” Gavin complained as he stretched his legs out before himself, “isn’t it hot?”

……

No, it wasn’t, but before Nines could say anything about the temperature of the room or the apartment, he felt Gavin’s lips and nose brushing against the long column of his neck. Freezing up immediately, Nines growled, “Reed, get to sleep.”

His warnings hadn’t been heard, clearly, and Gavin muttered, “S’hot…Nines…”

“Reed,” Nines growled louder this time, “I mean it, you—” He stopped when he felt something warm, hard, thick, and something that was definitely throbbing and growing against his thigh. Craning his neck down, Nines saw a dark tent in between Gavin’s legs forming, poking obscenely against the fabric of his black shorts. He didn’t need to scan anything else to know what was going on here.

Gavin was aroused.

Now, this situation was beyond wrong; it was horrifying.

Inching away as if the bed was on fire, Nines cried out in anger, “Reed! Let go!”

Chasing after him, Gavin latched on with his arms and legs, sticking tightly to Nines’ side. “Noooo,” he mumbled brokenly, “Nines, heeeelp meee…sooooo hot!!!”

“I don’t care!” Nines barked, arms flying up to Gavin’s in an effort to yank the limbs away, “you’re drunk, and you’re going to regret this in the god damn morning!”

“It’s hooooot,” Gavin repeated, and a second later, to Nines’ growing reverent terror, Gavin lifted a leg, wrapped and draped it around Nines’ own body, and he slowly began moving against Nines. The motions Gavin was making were undeniable; he was grinding slowly and deeply against the shocked android.

Once or twice, Nines tried shoving Gavin off himself, but it seemed that the more he put up a struggle, the more Gavin pursued him. Unrelenting, the detective panted and moaned into his neck, his hip movements growing fast and erratic. As uncoordinated and messy as the they were, Nines felt himself responding in kind between his own legs. Gavin’s ragged panting wasn’t doing well in keeping his self-control in check, and the android slowly turned as he struggled one last time to get away.

As soon as part of his back was turned towards Gavin, however, the detective snarled possessively, and he yanked Nines back down. This time, he spun Nines almost towards himself to lie down on his left side, but as Nines fought back for the final time, Gavin moved forward with a particularly powerful thrust.

Their clothed lower torsos made contact and rubbed deliciously, and that friction was enough to send Nines over the edge. He lost any bit of self-control he had, and he chose to obey his bodily functions instead.

Fuck it.

Gavin must’ve felt Nines responding, even though he was unable to say it. His gaze fell to his partner’s crotch, where his cock was obviously straining against the black cloth that covered it. Slowly, Gavin’s hand followed, and he delicately touched the large bulge Nines’ dark pants could not hide.

Though he tried, Nines found he could not stop his hips from jerking towards Gavin’s, nor could he prevent the groan that escaped his throat. Encouraged, Gavin ran his fingers down the length of the android’s clothed cock. Gavin’s innocent touch nearly made him come right there. However, somehow, Nines found the strength to gently remove the other man’s hand.

Damn him and his sense of righteousness!! He’d been programmed for shit like this to happen, he wasn’t unaware of that. But what he hadn’t been programmed for was to have hyper-sensitive reactions that practically made him burn and ache with need when the situation was so uncalled for. The limits of his patience were now being tested, and he wasn’t sure if he could fight back for much longer.

When a deep, throaty moan emanated from Gavin and sailed into his audio receptors and riveted potently through every portion of his bio-sensors, Nines found that the sound also was doing things to his cock that never should’ve been happening to begin with.

Shit!!! He was slipping!!!

Trying again to slide off the bed, Nines pushed back, but again, Gavin chased him down with his hips. Their arousals rubbed hotly, and Gavin slammed down over Nines’ length with raw need. He meant to moisten his own lips, but when his tongue flickered out and when Nines reared up at the same time, Gavin managed to lick Nines’ neck instead.

Now, Nines was entirely gone. He didn’t care what they were doing, he didn’t care what the context of the situation was, he didn’t care what would happen in the morning following this, nor did he care that Gavin was drunk. He just needed to _feel_.

With a deep growl, Nines propped himself up on an arm and rolled on his side towards Gavin. Hips bruising hips, he forced the shorter male back as he rolled on top of him. Gavin’s legs parted and wrapped around his hips as the inebriated, aroused male continued to thrust his own lower body against Nines. As they moved, Nines’ control was shattering. He could be inside Gavin’s tight warmth in three quick movements and one thrust. Why not? It wasn’t as though Gavin would blame him; after all, he’d started this!!!

But that would be…

No…he couldn’t even bring himself to think of ever doing such a thing. It was disgusting vile, and so evil.

Nines never knew how he found the strength to hold back, but somehow, he did. Although he didn’t get off the bed or Gavin, he soon found himself looking down at the other man. His erection was painful; his lust so strong that he wasn’t thinking much more clearly than Gavin, no doubt. Never had he wanted anything more than to tear open his pants and plunge into Gavin’s body, hearing how his initial screams of shock slowly turned into moans of desire.

Wanton thoughts whirled around in Nines’ head, nearly causing him to roar out with frustration. The pain in his balls however cleared his head somewhat, and he was able to look at Gavin intently again. Beneath himself, the detective lay there staring at him with mingled passion and fear. His hair was still slightly damp, and due to the darkness in the room, it looked almost quite black. Still, there was a faint, rosy glow stirring in Gavin’s cheeks, and even his scar somehow stood out clearly for Nines in the lights coming from the hallway.

Seeing Gavin like this spurred Nines on. The detective’s shorts were already halfway down his strong hips, and his shirt was nearly coming off his bulky arms.

Nines thought he never looked better…

No, he couldn’t fuck him.

Equally as frustrated as Gavin, now, Nines felt his thoughts aflame as he struggled with a possible solution to this conundrum that wouldn’t make it so that he would suffer terribly negative and horrific consequences afterwards.

While he couldn’t fuck Gavin, he supposed that didn’t mean he couldn’t get him off in another way…

Sliding his hands nimbly down Gavin’s shorts, Nines kept his eyes on Gavin’s face, closely watching and on the alert for any signs of distress and fear. When he didn’t see any, he continued. While still thrusting and gyrating his own clothed body on top of Gavin’s, Nines ran his hand down Gavin’s underwear. Yes, the heated erection was throbbing as it strained the cotton of the underwear, and Nines was swooning as he gently touched Gavin a few times on top of just the underwear. He couldn’t wait to have Gavin’s cock in the palm of his hand, but he took it slowly still, just in case Gavin wanted him to stop.

Writhing in pure need, Gavin didn’t seem to want for Nines to stop what he was doing anytime soon. Arching his back and chest off the bed and into the air, their bodies were now firmly pressed together. Nines’ senses went on overdrive, and he was reeling and dizzy. He’d never felt this way, but now that he had some kind of a taste for how glorious physical pleasures could be, he began to lust after and chase for more.

It wasn’t enough; it was too hot.

Fingers gently massaging Gavin’s erection through the cotton underwear, Nines gained confidence and enough courage to take it a step further. Needing to feel flesh heating up flesh, he pushed Gavin’s shorts and underwear just barely down to expose his mons pubis. At once, as Gavin’s desire sprang forth into air, Nines again gripped it firmly. He pulled plenty of heated moans from the human as he gave him a few experimental pumps. Once he found that Gavin keened so sweetly, Nines wanted to hear that sound again…and again, and again, and again. He’d never have his fill.

Greedily, he chased after the sounds slipping out of Gavin’s mouth, and as he leaned forward on an elbow and allowed his head to hover by Gavin’s cheek, he took in more of the heavenly sounds and thoroughly enjoyed them. Each of them sent powerful blasts and shock waves throughout his system, lighting each and every little thing on fire. So this is what it meant to be alive…

Not wasting time trying to drag it out, Gavin was moving his hips quite erratically against Nines, and the faster he went, the jerkier and more uncoordinated everything became. Due to being lost to his drunkenness, Gavin wasn’t able to hold himself up for long, and he crashed down onto the mattress a few times. Nines didn’t mind; he loomed over Gavin, propping himself up carefully so he wouldn’t crush the other male, and his hand flew up and down Gavin’s erection expertly.

As Nines had dreamed and fantasized earlier, Gavin’s sobs turned to moans and coos of desire. His arms wrapped around his neck, his legs gently curling around Nines’ own legs. With a nudge, Nines was able to prop up Gavin’s lower half against his own. Firmly, Nines’ hands grasped Gavin’s ass, showing him how to move to meet his thrusts. Both of them were fast in losing control now, their pace speeding up as they rocked together. And then, Gavin was coming, exploding around Nines, throb after throb of ecstasy that didn’t stop as long as the android was driving himself right into Gavin.

No, he could not deny it, but in the end, neither did he wish to. After all, Nines acknowledged the heady sexuality as the last paroxysm of pleasure swept through Gavin, and he heard the lust-filled detective call out something incoherently. It’d happened in one second, and Nines had missed it, but he didn’t care. He’d never experienced such sweetness in conceding defeat.

Though he knew Gavin had fainted right after his explosive orgasm, Nines still couldn’t stop what he was doing. His lust had finally broken free of his control. One hand went to his jeans, where he fumbled for a moment with the buttons, then with a grunt of impatience, he simply ripped open his fly and took out his hard member. A few strokes were all it took for him to climax. He groaned into Gavin’s sweet-smelling neck and skin as his cum spurted over his hand and spattered his pants.

It matched how wet Gavin had made his hand, and Nines continued gasping and panting against Gavin’s neck as he rode out the last bits of his own orgasm pleasantly. Mind spinning out of control, he found that his thirium pump was nearly about to explode as he spilled all over his hand and over his jeans for the last time.

Was it going to end???

Oh, how conflicted he was with wanting to end such bitter-sweet misery, yet simultaneously wishing this would never finish.

But it had, and as he was spent beyond belief, he brushed his low hanging bangs out of his eyes and away from his forehead. When his vision had readjusted and been refocused down onto Gavin as he moved himself off the other man, Nines felt his thirium pump plopping right down to the pit of his abdomen where it settled and almost got destroyed.

The weight of the one, single question suddenly slammed into him, and as it did, he was plagued and haunted by his own choice to pursue this.

What had he done?!?! He’d taken advantage of Gavin when the man wasn’t even in complete charge and in full control over his own faculties!!! He wasn’t cognizant enough to confirm he wanted it, and Nines had selfishly just swooped in and taken what he’d wanted from Gavin!!!

What had he done?!?!?

Muffling his own groans and cries that threatened to spill out of himself, Nines held up the back of his right arm over his mouth as he stared down at the sleeping Gavin Reed. The man was in a deep sleep, of course, and for once, Nines thought he looked…peaceful. Gone were the usual lines and creases in the corners of his eyes, and the few indents in his skin that he often wore during the waking hours were now gone. He looked years younger, more innocent, and above all else, Detective Gavin Reed looked _happy_.

But would he be come dawn? Would he still look just as pleased, calm, poised, innocent, and gentle once he opened his eyes and his mind poured forth every bit of every detail regarding what had transpired between them?

Nines didn’t think so, and he wasn’t a fool to try and assume such a thing. More than likely, the polar opposite was guaranteed to happen, and he’d been completely to blame. He was at fault; he’d done this. He was a monster, a sicko, and as Gavin had perfectly called him out on it, he _was_ a god damn pervert.

Nines was truly ashamed of himself as he gently rolled over towards the edge of the bed, rather than sleeping next to Gavin as he’d wanted to for the rest of the night. After pulling up his sullied jeans, he rose to his feet and padded off into the darkness.

A terrified, worried expression accompanied him all night long, and no matter what he did, he couldn’t rid himself of it.

Perhaps he never would.

**End of Part 1**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Can hardly believe that part 1-Autumn is over!!! Time flies, doesn't it?!


	26. Nobody’s Here

**Part 2-Winter**

A cloistered upbringing was never something Gavin Reed recalled having. Ever since the young boy could recall, his parents ensured that he hadn’t been without love, though they showed it in rather odd ways. His mother was gentle, loving, kind, and pleasant at all times. She baked cookies every once in a while, read him stories at bedtime, bought him any toys or games he wanted, and would often take a more ‘open’ approach to discipline that focused on solutions instead of lamenting about the problem. Yes, she’d been kind, virtuous, refined, and a very intelligent example for her son. Of course, as perfect as every parent was in the eyes of a child, while the child grew and developed, they gained a certain ‘cynical’ sense and perception of the world as their eyes opened to new things that may not have always been what they seemed only due to a special rose-tinted lens children often wore. Over time, those lenses blackened and grew sullied considerably, but of course, certain life experiences could also contribute and factor into make the lens darker faster.

Perhaps his home life hadn’t been so perfect, after all.

Yes, his mother had her wondrous attributes, but what of his father?

Being as fair as he could, Gavin often dreamt of his father more than he wanted to. However, in those dreams, he wasn’t entirely sure whether he was seeing the real Felix Reed, or the one his mind had created and purposefully fantasized about in order to shield up and protect himself from the truth…and just what was the truth???

The truth was rather subjective and murky at times, wasn’t it?

His father…his father?? What of his father?

Did Gavin remember Felix Reed as a slightly bookish, knowledgeable man who often looked too tired for his own good but still somehow managed to form a small smile on his face and entertain his son after a long day’s work? Or did he recall Felix Reed as a selfish, arrogant, emotionally stunted beast who liked to pick fights at random with Gavin’s mother? Had he _really_ missed out all those times on family dinners, social gatherings, special holidays, birthdays, and parties just to flirt with women in his office? Was he a strong-minded father who often shared a lot with his son, loved answering questions as much as being asked them, and wanted to continuously help his child grow and learn? Or was he as abusive, narrow-minded, cold, and removed from all semblances of Gavin’s youth like he’d once thought??

What was real? What was fantasy?

If only he knew…but to know would require digging into the past, and digging into the past meant opening up old wounds that had taken almost two decades to seal up and almost heal. No…he wasn’t going to be foolish enough to do such a thing. Perhaps it would be better to ask for help, to ask for someone to walk him down that path hand-in-hand, but Gavin Reed didn’t like asking for help. Sometimes, asking for help automatically meant being indebted to someone else, and only the weak had to resort to such means.

It was better to brave the storms and face the harshness of reality if it meant becoming a stronger person at the end of the day. Yes, he was content with wearing his battle scars like trophies as he listened to his own internal lamentation of his failures eventually leading him into glory. Through failure and through hardship, the sweet taste of success always tasted better and sweeter.

He would create his own memories if he had to start from scratch, but he found it was far less painful if he was willing.

Gavin Reed was _always _willing and prepared.

……

And yet, something had happened to him. He was certain of it the day after he woke up and left Nines’ apartment sheepishly. It wasn’t a case of him having memory problems…no. Gavin Reed’s memory was fully intact; he remembered fully well what had happened between himself and Nines, and he vividly was able to recall all the sordid details even midway into the next week after it’d happened.

No matter how busy he was, no matter how many tasks Fowler threw his way at him, Gavin remembered. Well, he couldn’t be entirely ungrateful for his memories; they provided a decent enough distraction to momentarily forget about his mother and his deceased father, at the very least.

Ever since Carrie had visited her son, she hadn’t bothered to call, email, write, or do anything else to reach out to Gavin. While that would of course be nothing short of worrisome for most parents and children, for Gavin and Carrie, it wasn’t anything out of the ordinary at all. They’d already passed most of their lives with extremes, and sometimes, going months without contact wasn’t all that horrific…only, it worried Gavin now, because he’d been concerned about his inheritance.

As sociopathic as it seemed even to his own mind, he really wanted to know what was going to happen with the money. If only he could get in touch with his father’s lawyer…who was it, again!? Damn his memory for choosing to fail him now, of all times!!!

Oh well. He was far too busy with work as it so happened, and he also had to think of Nines where his inheritance was concerned. This whole plan circled around an imaginary relationship he’d doctored with the taciturn android, and that aforementioned android was nowhere in sight. In fact, he hadn’t been around for the entire week back at work, and it was getting on Gavin’s nerves.

He’d mentioned that Nines was difficult to get a hold of when he didn’t want to be found, and boy, did Nines ever play into that damn role so very well. Seriously, it appeared as though Nines was nonexistent. He wouldn’t answer his phone, he wouldn’t reply to Gavin’s texts, and it didn’t even matter if Gavin tried to catch him at his office. Nines was just gone.

Well, Gavin couldn’t really blame him for it at all. He’d had plenty of sexual experiences in his life to know the difference between an awkward ‘one-night stand’ and a pretty good one. What had happened was simply one of the awkward one-night stands, although Gavin found that more often than not, they weren’t entirely mutually exclusive.

But this had been his first time with a _man_. This made all the difference in the world, and he wondered if Nines suspected it was his first time with a man also.

…..

Was he _really that_ transparent?!?!

A part of Gavin hoped he wasn’t, but he knew that he could only fake being confident about certain things for so long until something somewhere along the lines snapped and broke apart. There was also a matter of whether or not Nines was furious with him for making it happen, or perhaps he didn’t think Gavin wanted it, either.

Now, things were really getting tricky. Gavin could conjure at least a hundred different explanations and reasons, but his brain would implode and likely self-destruct if he didn’t get any closure. He was a guy who needed closure. It’s usually what he thrived off of, and Nines was denying him that. He already had to guess plenty of theories and such for work, and he didn’t need to do the same in his private, personal life.

Damn Nines!! Why couldn’t he just make himself available?!!? They needed to communicate!!!

Cringing, Gavin noticed he sounded a lot like his therapist.

……

Speaking of, as he checked his phone, he found that he’d received at least four missed calls from his therapist. Gavin knew exactly why, however. Around Christmas last year, he’d had something of a scary nervous breakdown in his therapist’s office, and it’d resulted in Gavin having to be kept on close watch by the professional, otherwise, he stated he would have to call a hospital and have the then-thirty-seven-year-old male committed…

What a disgusting memory.

Immediately doing something about ‘wiping it away’ in a sense, Gavin closed out of the notifications and cleared his ‘call log history’. He knew his therapist was more than likely just concerned, and he supposed he had a right to be. He’d missed at least six sessions, and the last five, he hadn’t provided a solid excuse for…

Fuck. He _really_ was slipping.

But first things first, he needed to talk to Nines. That really mattered to Gavin the most right now, and his blatantly obvious damage control mechanisms could be addressed later…maybe…never.

Yes…that made him feel better already. He could go find Nines, scream at him, maybe try to punch him in the chin, and then tell him that although what they’d done felt really amazing and had been very good, it would never, _ever_ happen again, and if Nines even thought about it, Gavin was going to beat him to a blue pulp.

…...

But why did he think it felt good??? Why couldn’t he stop thinking about it?!?

The detective for once was stumped. He was almost like some possessed, enamored sycophant, wanting to follow Nines and hound him until he provided him with an answer. How troublesome!! He was now the very apotheosis of a stalker, and a crazy boyfriend!!!

Perhaps he was working too hard…the days were of course colder, shorter, darker, and as Gavin had correctly picked apart the patterns of crime, it was steadily rising and increasing by the beginning of the third week of November. The month was creeping along quickly, but most days, Gavin hardly noticed time flying as he worked on closing as many of the cases he knew were top priority as possible.

By Thursday, November 22nd, things had really turned far too crazy for Gavin to handle. People and things moved about in colored blurs, and the rooms all spun as Gavin was tossed from one floor of the DPD to another, trying to run around like a chicken with its head cut off just to make deadlines. Evidence was literally piling up his ass, and plenty of calls were coming in as far as tips on missing persons was concerned. Now, he had to follow those leads, track down which ones were credible, which ones were bullshit from people with a sick idea of a joke, or people who just wanted attention, and he had to write a god damn report on each and every single one of them…

Fuck!

In the middle of all this, roughly around 11:53 a.m., Fowler suddenly took an interest in calling Gavin into his office. With the wave of a hand as he stood next to the steps leading up to his office, he barked out boisterously, “Reed!!! Get in here!!”

Suddenly, all thoughts of Nines, their sexual encounter, the weirdness surrounding Marsha, Charles, his mother, and the inheritance flew clean out of his mind. His body knew only one path to take, one direction to go into.

Racing towards where Fowler was, Gavin reached the other man in no time.

“You wanted to see me, sir?” The tentativeness in his own voice galled him. He sounded like when he’d been a student reporting to a teacher for detentions. Straightening up, he met Fowler’s gaze, determined to see this through no matter what the aggressive superior of his said to him.

Unfortunately, a rather insipid look crossed Fowler’s facial features. Yanking his reading glasses off his face, he pinched the bridge of his nose as he ground out, “Reed, do you think you can head over to the photocopier and photocopy this?” Holding up a sheet of paper Gavin hadn’t seen him carrying before, he squinted as he stared at its colors.

His stomach dropped immediately when he saw the red and green colors. He knew what the universal symbol and meaning for those colors happened to be…

Christmas…how damn turgid.

Swallowing nervously, Gavin wheezed, “Umm…sir?”

“Christmas party posters, Reed,” his boss snapped irritably, clearly in no mood to have such an ‘elementary-level’ conversation right now. “I’ll need about fifty or so.”

Understanding it all immediately, Gavin nodded, but the rebellious streak he still possessed enabled him to mutter out under his breath, “It’s not even December, Jeffrey…”

Immediately, Captain Fowler rounded on him. “What did you say, Reed?”

Wincing, Gavin tried softly, “But sir, don’t we usually get these out later? And why are we printing them out this year?!” All were valid questions Gavin felt he had every right in the world to ask, but apparently, Captain Fowler seemed to disagree.

Shoving the poster directly into Gavin’s chin, he snorted, “Reed, don’t get fresh with me! First of all, you should know that in the past, whenever we emailed and sent out newsletters, a lot of people seemed to miss them and not check their damn emails!!” Thickly, he added, “And second of all, you aren’t _that_ damn busy; just do this, and then get back to playin’ with your hair or something!!”

Snarling, Gavin griped, “Are you even out here to see what the hell’s goin’ on most days, Jeffrey?!” He couldn’t believe it, but he just shook his head as he snatched the poster in his hands.

“Fuckin’ unbelievable!!”

Waving him off, Fowler mumbled something that sounded a lot like, “Damn you and your marital problems with Nines,” but Gavin couldn’t be entirely too sure.

Livid, he hurriedly made his way past a crowd of officers who’d bustled in, the cold, white snow still partly visible on their dark blue uniforms as they marched past him and down the hall.

Gavin fought his way the entire time towards the photocopier, unaware of two angry pairs of eyes shining in a sinister manner at him as they tracked and followed his every move.

~0~0~0~0~0

Gavin suspected he was getting a cold. He just knew it; all the signs were there. Oh, how he hated the signs of catching a cold and the symptoms before he actually had his cold develop into a monster. His body felt weak, for one, but he also experienced ‘hot flashes’. Temperatures fluctuated terribly, going from hot to cold in less than two minutes sometimes. His knees felt like jelly, and Gavin had no idea how he even made it to the photocopier to begin with. His nostrils burned, as did the rest of his nose, his eyes burned and watered, his head throbbed, his ears kept popping and aching, and he felt like complete garbage all around.

Yes, he was certain he was catching a cold.

Fucking god damn.

Well, it didn’t necessarily have to be all that bad; he still suspected he had some sick days he hadn’t used up, and now was a good time to consider how many he had left…

Fidgeting nervously in the scanning and photocopying room, Gavin tried making it so that he stood directly beneath the heater above in the ceiling, but that failed exponentially when the photocopier let out a loud ‘beep’, and then shut off.

…..

What the…he hoped he hadn’t broken it…

Moving forcefully to check it out, Gavin stared at the display on the screen of the machine, and he let out a pained groan when he saw that it’d run out of colored ink.

What the fuck was he going to do, now?!?

Almost on the verge of crying in misery when he blinked and then felt a stupid sneeze that never came-only tortured him with notions that it would come out, Gavin yanked on his jean pockets before shoving his hands deeply within them.

Perhaps someone else in the damn building would know where they stored the colored toners and cartridges?! Well…it was worth a shot, but he really didn’t want to leave; the room was tiny, and the heat had already circulated around and within it so nicely!!!

This time, Gavin sensed he really was about to cry, but only because the damn sneeze kept getting backed up and stuck in his nose. What the fuck kind of a cold was this?!

As soon as he stepped out of the scanning and photocopying room, he held a hand around his mouth, and he let out a loud ‘ACHOO!’ Face scrunched up as he grimaced in pain, he wiped his eyes hurriedly and then made his way across the bullpen towards the storage closet. Perhaps the extra cartridges would be there?

Well, he was hoping and praying, otherwise, everyone in the DPD would have to somehow suffer his wrath. A sick Gavin wasn’t a ‘fun’ Gavin.

Sneezing his way over towards the storage closet, Gavin forgot that the damn door was locked, usually, and it required a damn key. He’d been given a set of keys since he first started working for the DPD, and supposedly, they were all labeled clearly for which door they fit into and opened. Only…Gavin had accidentally lost his keys some time back in April…and he hadn’t reported it to Captain Fowler or HR so they could log it and do something about it.

His incompetence really was grating, but he was too exhausted to be angry with himself. All he wanted to do was reload the damn photocopier and print out the pages without so much of a damn fuss, but it seemed like that was asking for the world wrapped in a silver or golden bow!! Nothing and no one would co-operate, it seemed.

Playing it cheap, Gavin initially waited by the storage closet door, hanging around the water fountains and vending machines in the hopes that someone would wander towards the damn door and unlock it with their own keys so he could swoop in at the most opportune moment and look for what he needed. If he played it by ‘coincidence’, it wouldn’t rouse anyone’s suspicions, and he would be able to perhaps get away with it…

…...

But would anyone show up??? Nope. Not a soul had dared to wander by in his general direction.

Gavin paced around the vending machines, pretending he was eyeing some chips and chocolate bars for nearly fifteen minutes when it felt too fake. No one poked around the damn vending machines for this long!!! So he went back to the water fountains, moved down the hall, and turned back again. This was his ‘path’ for another fifteen minutes before his sneezing turned almost too aggressive for his liking.

When he cleared his throat after sneeze number eight, he knew his throat was on fire.

Great. Sore throat, burning nose, eyes, ears, and one weak body. Yep, he definitely was catching a seasonal bug that often floated around the DPD every year around this same damn time. Actually, Gavin was truly surprised he hadn’t been sick for most of the autumn, and while he didn’t feel he should’ve been complaining, now, he still didn’t like being sick. It sucked.

Eyeing the clock high above on the wall before himself, he felt his patience growing thinner and thinner by the moment. Of course, on the very same damn day that he needed to make a show for going into the storage closet, no one would turn up.

His luck was perfect.

Muttering a simple ‘Fuck it’, Gavin spun around and was about to head back to his desk, when he rammed himself roughly into another solid body. Sailing backwards, it really took all of Gavin’s energy not to topple down onto the floor and make an ass out of himself in front of everyone. He managed it, however, and he steadied himself on his legs as he hissed and cursed under his breath.

For a moment, Gavin’s brain suddenly screamed one thing at him:

It could’ve been Nines he’d bumped into!!!

With renewed hope flowing through him, Gavin dashed ahead, eyes wide and seeking focus, in spite of being weaker than usual, and in spite of his pre-cold symptoms wrecking him silly.

However, the smile that was steadily starting to grow on Gavin’s face dampened measurably as he saw who he’d bumped into.


	27. Surrendering to Disgrace

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *WARNING! HOMOPHOBIC WORDS, BUT IT'S ONLY TEMPORARY!*

“Oh,” he visibly deflated, “hey Hank.” Although it wasn’t entirely bad seeing the aloof Lieutenant after not having seen him since before Halloween, Gavin wasn’t too thrilled that Nines was still somehow elusive as ever.

Hank looked well physically, which was the complete opposite to how Gavin felt and looked. His hair was slightly longer, and Gavin assumed it’d grown since late summer into late autumn, now. Hank had pulled it back from hanging in his face into a tiny, loose ponytail, though some strands spilled and poured forth. He had glasses on, and he smiled at Gavin from the top of the rims. He was wearing a grey jacket which looked to be new, and comfortable dark blue jeans.

Nodding his head at Gavin respectfully, he greeted, “Hey Reed, you’re looking…umm…” It was at this point that Gavin understood Hank’s plight perfectly well. If he stated the truth and how he felt about Gavin’s true appearance, there was a potential lying about that Gavin could snap. However, the worried and more paternal side of Hank was also battling fearlessly behind blue-grey eyes.

With a sigh, Hank murmured, trying to be mindful to keep his voice down. “You look like shit, Reed…you okay?”

Appreciating raw, blunt honesty whenever he could get it, Gavin nodded and flashed Hank a thumbs-up. “Mhm,” he somewhat lied, “I mean…just catching a cold, I think.”

“Oh?” Hank snorted, though it wasn’t in the way of cruelty or for the purposes of poking fun at Gavin, “is that why it looked like someone stole your kittens when you saw me?”

Gavin looked confused for a moment, and then Hank elucidated, “I’ve had better moments where people weren’t so disappointed when they saw me, but meh, it’s all good, Reed.” Showing his good faith, he gently pet Gavin on the shoulders a few times and smiled a genuine smile.

Gavin-happy to know that Hank wasn’t offended-smiled as well. “Actually,” he began in a soft chuckle while scratching the back of his head, “I’m glad you mentioned the kittens, but not in terms of abduction, haha.”

Intrigued, Hank’s smile grew, and an almost arcadian effect expanded from him to Gavin. It did well to soothe the detective’s nerves, emotional upset, and it was contagiously making his smile grow as well. “Didn’t know you liked cats, Reed,” Hank commented gently, leaning against the wall next to the storage closet as he took off his glasses and folded them into his jacket pocket.

While it wasn’t something that Gavin expected to be an axiomatic fact or knowledge floating about the DPD, he didn’t feel it would be too inappropriate in terms of sharing more information than necessary with a co-worker. Besides, everyone, _everyone_ in the office had their fair share of goofy pet stories to talk about. Perhaps he had some, too.

Folding his arms across his chest more so because he was freaking cold and wanted to hide his fingers into his armpits for warmth, Gavin stated, “I’ve had this stray orange tabby living with me on and off for almost a full year, and she had kittens a while ago…” Eyes gleaming, he whispered, “But they’re almost three months old now, and they’re adolescents, I think.”

“Seems about right,” Hank added, “how many do you have?”

“Six,” came the honest reply.

“Hmm,” Hank leaned back, “that’s quite a lot to handle, Reed!”

Eyebrows raising, Gavin nodded, “I know, and they’re gettin’ used to bein’ indoors since I raised ‘em practically myself, and now I need to figure out a way to give them away to people.” A sullen, somber look was upon his face, and he turned his head down, hoping Hank wouldn’t catch the change in expressions.

However, Hank had been a Lieutenant for half his life, practically, and he was also a very compassionate, empathetic person. Sensing Gavin’s sadness, he nodded as he softly pushed out, “It’s tough parting with something you love, I know.”

“Yeah,” Gavin grunted, and quickly avoided further emotionally charged conversation as he craned his neck up and smiled, “anyway, I know this might be weird, but I’m probably gonna have to start thinkin’ of how to give them away.”

Scratching his beard for a moment, Hank’s eyes lit up as he suggested, “I could take one, Reed.”

Gavin’s jaw fell wide open, and he gasped, “But Sumo?”

Waving that off with a smirk, Hank confidently answered, “Oh, he’ll love a new friend. He’s kinda gettin’ up there in age like myself, and I don’t want him turning into a lonely, grumpy old fart.”

Covering up his laugh with a hand, Gavin really enjoyed hearing what Hank had to say. A few people stopped to stare once the laughter rang out brightly in the corridors and halls, but they went about their business hurriedly afterwards when nothing that out of the ordinary seemed to be at the center of attention.

“Sorry,” Gavin calmed down and composed himself, sniffling as he stood back and just smiled. “So, you will take one?”

Hank grinned widely, “Yep! Whenever you’re ready to make that happen, let me know, Reed.”

Before he could shift away with an auspicious wave, Gavin reached out to him and cried, “H-hey, Hank?”

Stopping abruptly, the older man nodded at him, “What’s goin’ on, Reed?”

Almost shyly, as if he were a child again asking an adult for permission to do something, Gavin wrung his hands around each other nervously as he inquired, “Umm, are you headin’ in the storage closet by any chance?”

As if a light had suddenly turned on in Hank’s head, the older man’s eyes widened drastically, and he snapped his fingers as he chuckled cheerfully. “Shit! I _was_ going to do that!!” he exclaimed as he chuckled more, “damn old age!! Nearly forgot, but thanks for remindin’ me, Reed.”

Laughing a tad awkwardly, Gavin pressed out, “Aha, yeah, don’t mention it, man.” As he stood back and waited for Hank to fish out his pair of keys and unlock the door, he allowed the older man to head inside first before he dove inside and searched all around for the colored ink cartridge. To his sheer luck, he found the last box sitting behind some old Christmas decorations.

Opening it up swiftly, he kicked at the Christmas decorations box as he said to Hank, “I’m shocked Fowler hasn’t decorated the damn place with these, yet!”

“He’s too busy,” Hank snorted, “but I’m sure one of us will have to do it, eventually.”

“Yeah,” Gavin stated simply, grabbing what he needed and waving a hand at Hank. “Well, thanks, Anderson…hope to catch you around some time—”

Chuckling deeply, Hank commented, “I’m not really one to poke around in areas that don’t concern me, Reed, but I’ve been meaning to ask you how your Halloween went?”

Freezing for a moment before he collected himself, Gavin replied smoothly, “Oh, it was fun! Spent it with Nines.”

Smiling and nodding in approval, Hank said, “Good, I’m truly glad to hear that, Reed.” Fishing around for what he needed, he began stacking boxes of extra blank sheets, extra chart paper, extra markers, and placed them on top of each other while he resumed his search for whatever he was looking for.

Not wanting to be too rude, Gavin stepped towards him and offered his assistance. “You need some help?”

“Hmm? Oh, yeah, that’s very nice of you, Reed,” Hank stood back and sighed, “fuckin’ old age kickin’ up again; forgot what the hell I needed in here…”

Snickering softly, Gavin commented, “I’m sure it’ll come to you when you least want it.”

“Ain’t that the story of my life,” Hank muttered, and then his eyes lit up again. “Hey! Reed!” he barked out loudly, causing Gavin to leap up a bit only due to how sudden and abrupt it was. “How’re things with Nines, by the way?”

Now, this was where Gavin was stuck. If someone asked him about Halloween, he could’ve easily answered, as he genuinely had information on that memory. But as far as the events that came afterwards were concerned, it would be a matter of lying and making stuff up, but Gavin didn’t want to do that. He had no energy for details, specific, phony emotions of the time and place that would add flair to the story, and he didn’t want to put in an effort to make the story credible, either.

That would require far too much effort, and he didn’t have that stamina now, especially when he was about to fall ill.

Simply resorting to shrugging, he answered swiftly, “It’s…well, it’s whatever, I guess. Why?”

Immediately, Hank was suspicious, and Gavin nearly booted himself in the ass for thinking he could get away with trying to pull a trick before a seasoned Lieutenant’s eyes and mind.

Tapping a finger on his chin as he squinted and narrowed his eyes at him, Hank stated, “That sounds like code for ‘some shit went down between yourself and Nines’, Reed,” lowering his voice, then, he asked, “wanna talk about it?”

‘No’ had been on the tip of Gavin’s tongue, as it was the most used word in his selection of vocabulary on a daily basis. But for some reason, he found himself uttering, “Yes.” He didn’t know what had possessed him to give in so easily, but he figured it wouldn’t help to talk to Hank. After all, he’d reached out before to the older man and sought his words of comfort and advice, and it was a good venting method. It wouldn’t be so bad to have a repeat incident for his own benefit, Gavin supposed. It wasn’t like he was going to make a habit out of this and always rely on Hank’s help and guidance.

A protective, stubborn-headed portion of himself still struggled and fought back against opening up completely to anyone. It was more than a privacy issue or concern; letting someone in usually didn’t yield the best results, and Gavin didn’t want to foolishly fall into a trap or a pit of his own self-originated stupidity. Perhaps he could pick up the pieces and figure things out on his own…perhaps he couldn’t. But why he’d taken Hank Anderson up on his offer so easily stunned and puzzled him. Right down to his core, he’d worked so hard for many long years at trying to build walls. What was the point of building these great, thick walls if someone could so easily tear them down???

As he stood while thinking, Hank cried out in zeal, “Ahaaa!! Holy shit!! I found what I was lookin’ for, Reed!!” Bending down, he grabbed clear tape and masking tape, and he bundled them to his chest. “For the posters,” he announced, “Fowler asked me to help you with your task, but holy shit, did it ever become a mission to remember!!”

Smiling weakly, Gavin couldn’t say anything to that. His thoughts still burdened and troubled him, and naturally, the only thing he could do was disassociate.

Again, Hank noticed it, and his face took on a concerned look as he whispered urgently, “Reed, let’s get out of here and find somewhere quiet to talk, okay? I’ll even get you some coffee from the Break Room, just give me a sec to put the tape on my desk.”

Again, the word ‘yes’ came out without even the slightest bit of a hesitation or fight.

Perhaps it wasn’t such a bad thing to say, really. After all, he really needed a talk and some words of comfort, and he wasn’t going to damn himself for chasing after them.

~0~0~0~0~0

By the time Hank and Gavin reached the Break Room, prepared the steaming cup of coffee, and found a seat when everything was quiet, Gavin’s cold symptoms had worsened. His nose was runny, now, and he’d used up two tissues already to keep it dry. His head was pounding, and his voice sounded far too nasally for his own liking.

Being sick sucked.

Sitting down in front of him at a small table for two near the back, Hank slid his own coffee cup towards the sugar, and he grabbed one packet and tore into it before turning it upside down and dumping it all into his coffee. Rubbing his hands together as he got comfortable, he stared down at his coffee and smacked his lips. “Can’t wait for this baby to cool off,” he joked, and then stared up at Gavin and winced, “I hope you can taste some stuff, Reed…”

“I’m not that sick yet,” Gavin answered, blowing his nose again as he sighed, “fuckin’ brutal.”

Snickering, Hank suggested, “Get a flu shot.”

“Those don’t work, and you know it,” Gavin grunted, but he was well aware that Hank had meant that comment to be more facetious than anything else taken seriously.

The flippant Lieutenant finally got serious as he said, “Right, so, Gavin, if you’re okay with sharing it with me, what happened between yourself and Nines?”

Long story.

Not sure where to begin, Gavin propped a hand up and leaned it against his left temple while staring down seriously into his coffee, as if it held all the answers he’d been looking for. The clock ticked loudly somewhere, and the flat screen Panasonic HD TV mounted high in the Break Room played some news segment as he thought about his answer. It somehow suddenly seemed far more difficult to answer than a college final exam, but he eventually managed to scramble for an answer he hoped was good enough for a start.

Scratching his nose gently, he replied, “We had some kind of a weird experience, I think.”

Loaded statement of the century, and possibly of all mankind.

As if he felt the same way, Hank sighed as he used his coffee cup to warm his hands by wrapping the limbs around the cup tightly. “That requires specificity, Gavin,” he stated blandly, “I mean, my mind’s goin’ in weird directions, so help a guy out, here.”

“Err...”

“Listen, Gavin,” Hank interrupted, “I am aware we are not on the best of terms, but I can assure you that I will be nothing but professional and discreet about this. I have seen a lot of weird shit in my time, one more embarrassing than the next, and even if something along the lines of sexual happened between you and Nines—”

Gavin cringed, and it was enough to give everything away as he flushed deeply.

“—Something sexual happened between you and Nines,” Hank stated flatly as he looked a bit spooked, but otherwise remained nonjudgmental.

Shamefully, Gavin only stared at the floor. “Yeah.”

“I see.”

While Gavin was eternally grateful that Hank hadn’t reacted in a drastic way and for the most part seemed to be open-minded enough to listen, he still vowed not to really get into details as he braced himself for a retelling of the version of events in a ‘PG’ way.

On the same track, Hank sighed as he ruffled the top of his hair, “Look, Gavin, I’m not one to judge, and if you don’t want to tell me what happened, I can respect that, but seein’ as it’s easier for me to piece stuff together with _some_ kind of a picture painted, it’d be best to explain what happened in some way or another.”

Turning gaunt, Gavin croaked, “Well, see, I was—”

Holding up a hand, first, Hank added, “Err, Gavin, keep in mind, you don’t have to tell me _everything_, like who did what and how it was done and where stuff went in…yeah…”

Even more embarrassed, Gavin coughed around what he’d heard before he calmed down significantly. Although he didn’t exactly feel ‘ready’ to continue, he reminded himself to keep his statements as ‘open’ as possible without giving away too much that could potentially make Hank not want to listen anymore and be his confidant. At least he had the gift of _one_ person wanting to hear him out, and he wasn’t going to ruin his luck when it was just going moderately well for him.

Settling for how it all started in the first place, Gavin explained slowly, “Well, we were just hangin’ out with some friends, and long story short, I was pretty drunk, and Nines didn’t want me to drive on back to my place.”

Already leaping to conclusions, a fearful look instantly crossed over Hank’s face. Eyebrows knotted and wrinkles creasing his pale skin, he rasped uncomfortably, “Gavin, I hope you’re not suggesting that Nines…you know…he…” Face twisting in disgust, he wasn’t even able to finish his sentence. Not that he needed to; Gavin understood him perfectly well enough.

Taking measured breaths, he intoned, “No, Hank, nothing like that happened, believe me.”

Immediately relieved, Hank sighed out, “Holy shit, thank God…woah…” Panting, he then chuckled as he added, “I didn’t think Nines would _ever_ even think of doin’ that, but you know, wherever alcohol is concerned, it’s—”

“It wasn’t a matter of consent,” Gavin cut in quickly as he leaned into the table, “I mean, I didn’t mind what happened; I liked it, and I don’t regret it at all.”

Holding up a finger tentatively, Hank wheezed, “You mean…you guys…oh Jesus…”

“No!” Gavin coughed out terribly, “we didn’t like…we didn’t have sex in the way you’re thinkin’ Hank! He just got on top of me and jerked me off, and then he—”

Hank’s coughing and groaning turned wild, out of control, and he shielded himself with his hot cup of coffee. Holding it up before his own eyes, he closed them tightly, grit his teeth together, and waved a hand firmly in the air. “Stop, stop, stop, Gavin!” he cried out painfully, not even bothering to sip his coffee as he placed it back down onto the table and shivered.

“Gavin,” he continued when he was ready again, “I honestly am not one to preach, and God knows that I’m not really an advocate for how people should carry themselves out in a relationship, seein’ as my ass has been divorced for almost over two full decades, but let me tell you something I’ve learned over the years.”

Sitting up, Gavin’s ears were trained seriously on Hank. For once, he genuinely found he gave a damn as to what this man had to offer, and he was going to hear it out, no matter how awkward or strange it made him feel. It was always like taking bitter medicine; it tasted foul and horrible at first when you swallowed it down, but it was always good for you.

What was good was always difficult to hear and difficult to understand.

Covering his mouth for a moment as he sat deeply in thought, Hank then pushed out as he lowered his hand, “Sex aside, you really need to try and understand the person you’re with a little more each day.”

While that wasn’t bad advice, it was far easier said than done, especially when everything was still brand new to Gavin, and especially considering the fact that Nines was being way too elusive.

Throwing his hands into the air, Gavin croaked out of his dry, aching throat, “But that was seriously my first time with another guy, Hank, and to be honest, I’m feeling kind of…hurt?” He didn’t know what word he wanted to use, but the application of the word ‘hurt’, and all its meaning seemed apropos.

Eyebrows arching, Hank repeated, “Hurt?”

…Perhaps that hadn’t been the best word, then.

Mildly irritated, Gavin groaned, “Well, I mean, after we umm…yeah…” he blushed, “…after that happened, Nines just kinda…left?”

The way he’d pushed that out more like a question instilled plenty of doubt and confusion within Hank. Sipping his coffee slowly, he eventually had his fill and set it down. “Left? What do you mean he left you, Gavin?”

At the risk of sounding like some enamored teenager who’d just lost their virginity for the first time ever and been callously dumped, Gavin groaned deeply, “I mean he just left me with feelin’ awkward after…get it?” Oh, he hoped Hank would understand, now.

Blinking a few times, Hank suddenly gasped, “Ooooh, so it was one of those odd, ‘almost-one-night stand’ things, huh??” Before Gavin could intervene, Hank chuckled, “I guess the tides have turned, Reed, y’know, with Tina?”

Rolling his eyes tiredly, Gavin sighed in a dreary manner, “Hank, for God’s sake, please be serious for a moment.”

“Sorry,” the other male apologized earnestly and genuinely, “I think I get what you mean though, Gavin.”

Sitting up, Gavin piped up, “You do?” This was a bit of a first. Truthfully, Gavin didn’t want to be rude and mean enough to assume that Hank lived out and practiced a celibate lifestyle since his divorce. It was a rather invasive, intrusive, touchy subject, and it wasn’t his business at all. Plus, he didn’t want to have Hank tell him ‘none of your business’, so he kept that part of his comments to himself.

Tilting his head to the side as he stretched his legs out before himself, Hank replied, “I mean, I’ve never been with a guy, personally,” he paused, and both men cringed before Hank was able to continue, “but it’s fair to say that as oddly as you feel about it, perhaps Nines is going through the same thing…maybe even on a stronger level.”

Gavin had considered this, but again, how was it his business?? “The only thing I can say is that it—” he paused, and then took a few seconds to sniffle before he sneezed twice quite loudly. It shook their tiny table, and Hank’s jaw fell for a moment before he composed himself.

Gavin muttered, “That s-sounded worse than it actually was, honest.”

“Not sure if that’s ‘good’, Gavin,” Hank joked politely. “So, you were saying?”

“Yes,” Gavin resumed his little rant, “I’m just a bit annoyed because it feels like I kinda got dumped or something…well, not like…” he made air quotation motions with his fingers, then, “_dumped_, dumped, because I’m not really _with_ Nines, but let’s just say that it doesn’t feel that great to be used for sex and then just walked out on.”

Face scrunching up in a transpicuous show of disdain for what he’d said, Hank disagreed. “I wouldn’t say you were ‘used’, Gavin,” he muttered gently as he slid his empty coffee cup towards the edge of the table before turning his body to the right, indicating nonverbally that he was heading out towards the large, black garbage bin near the opening of the Break Room.

“I think the most logical thing going on here is that Nines was weirded out by that experience, you were weirded out, and that is a heck of a nasty combo, especially when you two aren’t talkin’ it out.”

Gavin mumbled, “Talking?? I already escaped that form of therapy, Hank; I don’t need to go through it some more.” After all, what good did talking ever do, really? Sitting in a stuffy, cramped room while staring away at shitty colored walls, having to fess up and talk to some idiot who was overpaid and didn’t give a shit about his problems really didn’t seem all that appealing.

Hank wandered over towards the garbage bin, and then muttered, “Shit, forgot this should be recycled.” He then tossed the paper cup into the green recycling bin right next to the garbage bin instead. “Keep it all in mind, Gavin, but it’s really much healthier to talk shit through instead of bottling it up.”

Angry with all this suddenly, Gavin couldn’t help but blurt out, “Oh, yeah? Well then, are you gonna listen to me, Hank? Hmm?” Pressing on, he jabbed at Hank with sarcasm dripping off every word spoken, “Are you gonna volunteer to take up the job of a licensed therapist-someone who gets paid like two-hundred and fifty an hour to sit there and listen to people’s problems, and yet you’re gonna do it for _free_??? What a fuckin’ joke.”

The moment he was through with proclaiming this ever so sarcastically, Gavin’s stomach flipped and sank down to his toes. He’d fucked up. He’d given into his vitriolic, impulsiveness as always, and he’d gone ahead and ruined what potentially could’ve been a unique opportunity for his own good. Why was he such a fuck-up and such a loser?!?

Kicking himself mentally over and over, Gavin repeatedly cursed himself for his big mouth. No matter what, he just couldn’t bring himself to look at Hank. He feared that if he looked up, he’d either be met with a strong fist in the face, or curse words far worse than anything he himself could’ve conjured up.

…..

But it was just too, _too_ quiet.

It was more than likely a bad, bad thing, and it captured Gavin’s curiosity.

Peeking up blearily at the other man, Gavin winced once his eyes landed on Hank’s face, but it wasn’t for the reasons of Hank being angry or irate with him.

In fact, it was quite the opposite.

Hank was only smiling warmly and displaying so much patience in spite of what Gavin had said and done to him. The younger male was frankly quite shocked and frightened, but soon, relief weighed over that fear, and he felt himself straightening up as he looked down in submission at his own feet. Hank’s method of remaining quiet seemed to work, and as he smiled with his eyes twinkling out an almost sapient sort of aura, Gavin was taken aback by his own actions.

“I’m sorry, Hank. That was beyond rude and uncalled for.”

Slowly reaching into his jacket pocket to withdraw his glasses, Hank placed them back on the bridge of his nose again. Still smiling the entire time, he empathetically replied, “No need to be sorry, Gavin; but you really need to talk to Nines; not me.”

As Gavin continued to stare down at the floor, he had no idea how on Earth he gathered his guts and energy to nod slowly. He did, however, and as he nodded, Hank took a few steps back and slowly spun around on his heels to head back towards his desk.

“Think about it, Gavin,” he advised gently, “you don’t have to do anything now, and you don’t need to answer any of these questions any time soon, but you really need to face them some day; remember that.”

And he was off with one last smile thrown in Gavin’s direction.

Strangely, Gavin found that when he caught sight of such a smile, it warmed him up, at least marginally.

~0~0~0~0~0

The end of the day arrived just the same, and Gavin was still feeling worse. Now, he really felt like hammered shit through and through, but at least the posters for the DPD had been posted up, and for the remainder of his shift, Gavin handed out the other posters physically to any of his co-workers he happened to run into. Of course, he’d missed at least fifteen or so people, but he stacked the last few posters neatly in his desk, locked the drawers and filing cabinets, and then cleaned up a little. It was still as messy and as clustered as hell, but he could always clean up on Friday before he left, he supposed.

His pounding, throbbing head and temples told him that it was better to get the hell out of dodge and just head home to rest, and that’s what Gavin wanted to do. Gathering his keys, papers, and anything else he felt he really needed, he was almost the last person to exit from the DPD building.

Outside, the weather was almost darker than he’d have liked, and it made Gavin feel colder and weaker. It sucked having to even be caught in this type of ambiance, but he was going to go home soon!!

Practically making a run for it, he’d barely gotten past the exit doors leading into the parking lot, when a thick hand wrapped itself around his neck and squeezed him back. Yelping in fear and pain, Gavin was then slammed into a broad chest, and he was yanked back inside the DPD.

Trying to put up a struggle in spite of being tired and under the weather, Gavin saw the floors and ceiling of the DPD spinning, but he was unable to make anyone out when he was forced through rooms and halls with his back facing his attackers. He was certain there were two of them, however, because he heard one of them breathing raggedly as he held onto him, and the other kept opening and pushing doors open hurriedly.

“Fuckin’ let me go!!” he shrieked a few times in anger, but he may as well have been talking to a door or a chair.

Moving back with the arms around his throat, Gavin’s eyes watered, and he ceased putting up a fight lest he choked to death right here and now. Swallowing mouthfuls of air whenever the hands slightly relaxed their hold on him, Gavin heard one last door opening up before he recognized an old hallway and stairwell no one really used, but it led to an alternate way to get to the second and third levels of the DPD building.

The lights here were brightly lit, and they hummed and buzzed as Gavin was dragged back more until his aggressor decided they’d reached the end of their journey. Throwing Gavin down violently to the cold, hard floor, he backed away hurriedly as the shorter male coughed and gasped while gingerly touching his aching neck and throat.

“Motherfucker!” Gavin roared when he felt his adrenaline rushing and flowing in his veins wildly, and the only thing on his mind was revenge. Standing up swiftly to his feet, he rounded on his attackers, and then leapt back in pure terror.

There weren’t two as he’d initially suspected; there were three men.

The first was the tall, muscular, brown eyed, raven-haired Mischa Barker. Hair slightly matted as his cheeks puffed in and out, he looked terribly frightened as he stood next to another blonde-haired man slightly taller with piercing blue eyes and a long, hooked nose. He was quite thin compared to Mischa, and Gavin suspected his name was ‘Luke’. While Mischa looked terrified beyond imagination, Luke did not, and he glared at Gavin as his arms hung out to his sides. It was a defensive, aggressive stance, and Gavin didn’t like it as he coughed a few more times and finally threw his most heated scowl over at the last man.

Of course, it was Gary Foster. The brunette’s dark brown eyes looked almost black as he leaned against a wall in the small alcove beneath the stairwell. With a ghostly wave as he remained hidden in the shadows, he hissed, “Hello, Gavin.”

Already piecing it all together, Gavin sneered as he spat, “Nice to see you too, Gary.”

Arching his brows, Gary eased casually away from the wall. “How’s it goin’, Reed?”

Still massaging his throat, Gavin croaked weakly, “Ah, you know, pretty good when I’m not bein’ attacked and abducted like this, but meh, who’s complainin’, here?”

Luke continued glaring at him, lips pulled back in an angry, silent snarl, while Mischa trembled and shook uncontrollably. If Gavin didn’t know any better, he thought that Mischa had also been ‘forced’ into this. He looked absolutely freaked out, and he held back a tiny whimper the longer the silence stretched out.

Eventually, he broke down as he cried out to Gary, “O-okay! We did wh-what you wanted, Gary! But I think we should—”

“Shut the fuck up, Barker,” Gary admonished the shorter, thinner male, clearly the more dominant one of the bunch. Pointing at the man he’d reprimanded so harshly, he spat, “You’re already neck-deep in this, so you better continue to play along nicely, got it?”

Hanging his head low, Mischa shook, but remained quiet.

Approaching Gavin steadily, Gary’s almost onyx colored eyes bore right into the center of Gavin’s, but the detective knew for a fact that this was only an intimidation tactic. Gary wanted him to be scared, and even though Gavin knew that this had been a well-planned attack due to the fact that this part of the building didn’t have working security cameras recording and monitoring activities past 5:30 p.m., that didn’t mean he was going to let his guard down more and allow Gary to assault him.

Coming right out with it, he demanded, “What’d you want, Foster?”

Smiling almost sweetly, Gary blinked as he cuttingly answered, “You. Gone.”

Luke began snickering, while Mischa kept trembling potently.

Gavin was taken aback. “I’m not sure I—”

“Reed, it’s simple,” Gary interjected, “from tonight on, you’re gonna prepare a resignation letter appealing to both Fowler and Human Resources, you _will_ get that shit signed, and by the middle of next week, you’ll clean out your desk and get the fuck outta town.”

Thinking it was all a joke, Gavin chuckled, “Ha, you’re pretty fuckin’—”

Again, his comment had been cut off as Gary leaned into him as snarled, “This isn’t a joke, Reed; we want you gone.”

Staring over at Mischa and at Luke for a moment, Gavin more so asked them instead of Gary, “Why? What did I do?”

“Because we don’t wanna see this place turn into some kind of fuckin’ fairy temple, Reed,” Luke answered before Gary could, “already, you’re getting everyone nervous with your new engagement to your robot boyfriend, and it’ll be one thing that leads to another, and soon, everyone will want to marry their computers or their fuckin’ phones. I’ll be damned if I stand by idly and let this place turn into a fuckin’ shithole.”

Shaking his head in protest, Gavin snapped sharply, “This is a fuckin’ crime! You dipshits don’t get that?!”

Apparently, his words really seemed to affect Mischa, and the more passive male chirped out, “Okay! We scared him enough, Gary! Let’s j-just let him go, now!”

“I said shut the fuck up, Barker!!!”

Knowing that Gary was distracted for a moment, Gavin chose to take advantage of it. He bolted forward, trying to make a break for it towards the steps so he could at least create some distance between himself and the attackers.

Unfortunately, Gary was quick to react, and he screamed out at his cronies, “GET HIM!!!”

Lunging forward from the side, Luke caught hold of Gavin’s right arm, wrenching the man’s fingers away from grasping at the handrail of the staircase. As he tugged Gavin back brutally, he sent the short man skittering away from the steps and back under the alcove where the shadows encased Gavin’s form. Right behind Luke, Gary grabbed Gavin’s left arm, twisting it behind his back. With a wide grin, the cruel leader leaned over Gavin’s back while the other male struggled for his life. Gary’s eyes twinkled with sadistic glee as he watched Gavin fight back.

“Not so special now, are you Reed?”

Shocked and rendered speechless-literally-it took Gavin a moment before he started to struggle once more. But struggle he did, almost ripping his arm free of Luke’s grasp. Not wasting effort on trying to speak, he tried to kick his way free of the larger, bulkier men holding him. With a grunt, Luke tightened his hold, jerking Gavin’s arm behind his back as well. Gary widened his stance and yanked Gavin’s other arm up higher, threatening to dislocate his shoulder.

As this happened, Mischa began panicking as he screamed repeatedly, “LET HIM GO!! ENOUGH!!! ENOUGH!!”

Stepping forward as he ignored his colleague, Gary smirked. “Oh, give it up, Reed. You’ve lost, and you know it.”

Gavin would’ve yowled in pain if he could; instead, his lips moved soundlessly. Not wanting to give these bastards the satisfaction of knowing they got to him, he still struggled. However, even as Gary and Luke forced him down to the floor, pinning him on his back against the cold floor, Gavin felt his spirits dying down when he rapidly lost the stamina required to fend off the aggressive assholes.

“Okay, Gary!” Luke grunted as he jammed a knee in the center of Gavin’s back when the pained detective rolled to his side, “we’ve got him!!”

Gary rolled his eyes, shaking his head as he stepped forward, a clenched fist at the ready. “I’d tell you to cry out for help, but... oh dear, you can’t and won’t, will you?” He snickered again, amused at himself, but shot Luke and Mischa a narrow-eyed look when they were too silent.

Nodding at his friends, he barked out, “Now then, I’ve given you my warnings and conditions, Reed, and the rest is up to you. Shall I let these two hold you still while we finish up here, or are you interested in listening so we can all go home in peace?”

The internal rage burning within Gavin’s mind couldn’t be heard, but from the look on his face, it was pretty clear he was cursing Gary, and most likely insulting his parentage. When the stronger, younger male stepped closer, Gavin went still a moment, and then lashed out with super quick reflexes. Brutally, he made it so that his heel connected sharply with Gary’s shin.

He found that what his mother had once told him about bullies rang true; fight back and they turn into cowards. Immediately, Gary attempted to jump back, but wasn’t quick enough. Yowling in pain and hopping on one foot, he clutched at his shin and cursed Gavin up and down. Blinking at the kick and from the sight of his leader hopping about ridiculously, Luke winced and shifted to pin Gavin down more firmly, grabbing hold of his leg. Encouraged, Gary ran forward, and put more of his powerful weight on Gavin. Even as he put more effort into holding the sick, bound male in place, he couldn’t help but want to attack Gavin even as he was down, and he bashed him in the jaw a few times quickly. At the sight of Gavin Reed spitting and sputtering out ruby blood, Luke and Gary hooted and howled in their triumph.

“GUYS!!!” Mischa cried, but he was still ignored.

Luke and Gary grinned in gleeful triumph, watching as Gavin coughed and spat out more blood, though he defiantly sneered through his pain and tears. At least he got some back not breaking down so easily. Sneering at his rivals, he struggled futilely against Gary’s and Luke’s hold on him, well and truly pinned.

As Gavin tried rounding on Luke with a snarl, the other man already knew what was going to happen. Moving quickly, he set both of Gavin’s feet on the floor again. Meanwhile, Gary restrained himself from lashing out at Gavin. Instead, he only kicked Gavin in the stomach once. “You’ll pay for this shit, Reed,” he spat, pointing his fists at Gavin’s face from only a few inches away. “You’ll pay, and don’t forget; you were given a choice.”

Looking up at Mischa, he screamed, “Hold his feet still, you lumbering behemoths!”

Having no other choice, the other fearful man obeyed. As Luke leaned to pin Gavin’s arms more securely, Mischa finally lay himself across Gavin’s legs at the knees, effectively pinning him. He quickly whispered, “I’m sorry,” to Gavin before looking away in remorse.

Smiling once Gavin was firmly held down, Gary approached. Then, he shrugged his anger off, and instead smiled a smile that portrayed how much he was enjoying this. Bending quickly, he punched Gavin in the chin once, and while he was down there, he aimed for the center of his sternum brutally. Cursing soundlessly and helplessly, Gavin kept struggling, unable to move the much larger males off himself.

“Don’t let him move,” Gary ordered as he stepped closer. Luke nodded, and shifted to pin Gavin’s arms to the hard floor with a knee and his right hand, laying his left forearm across the other man’s throat to hold him in place while also choking him slowly. Tearfully, Mischa kept his place across Gavin’s legs, managing somehow to stay out of Luke and Gary’s way. Once the trio held Gavin firmly in place, Gary raised a booted leg, and aimed it right for Gavin’s nose.

Closing his eyes as he braced himself for the bloody impact, Gavin held back tears of pain and just waited…and waited…and waited…

…..

Nothing happened to him…

As he opened his eyes, he first heard a loud scream, and then saw Gary knocked back into the air a good few feet like he weighed nothing.

This did well to distract Mischa and Luke. Mischa screamed in terror, but before he could leap off Gavin, he was slammed back violently. Nearly crashing into the walls of the alcove beneath the stairwell, he bashed his skull against the wall, and he was knocked out in an instant.

Roaring when he saw what was going on, Luke got to his feet at the same time Gary did. As they advanced towards their attacker, a thick, heavy chain could be heard rattling in a dangerous warning. Suddenly, the chain had been flung forward, one end of it wrapping around Gary’s outstretched arm. Once it was perfectly looped there, Gary was tugged ahead on his feet across the floor. Rolling terribly over and over, he lost his footing and was kicked roughly in the stomach.

As he doubled down in fear while gasping for air, Luke leapt ahead as he screamed a war-cry. In one second, the chain rammed him in the chin, and then it was swung it over again. It met the nose of Gary just as he’d been attempting to crawl forward for the last time. Blood burst and sprayed forth, and that was it for the young man. Eyeballs rolled back into his head, and just as his trembling hands flew up to cradle his broken nose, he collapsed and fainted.

Before Luke could do anything else, the chain pulled back, and then came hurtling at him. Though he managed to swat at it as quickly as he could for a frightened man with super-fast reflexes, it was no good. At the same time, a dark force flew ahead and knocked right into him, throwing him back into the walls. As Luke tried ducking the chain, it missed him once and smashed against the wall, but a long leg jutted out quickly and rammed knee-first into Luke’s solar plexus. The sound of the impact had been terribly brutal, a loud ‘CRACK’ echoing in the empty hallway before Luke crumpled down like a lifeless puppet just like his friends.

As Gavin’s vision cleared and his mind steadied itself, he gasped out in relief now that he’d been freed. Though his mouth gushed more blood, he knew the injuries Gary and his lackeys suffered were seriously way worse than his own. Now wasn’t the time to complain; he had to thank his savior.

Staring up at the shadowy figure beneath such bright lights, Gavin wiped his wet eyes with the back of a sleeved hand as he whispered, “Th-thank you, man, I—” Pausing, he let out a pained gasp once his eyes took in just who his helper was.

Jaw dropping as his heart skipped many beats, it took him almost a full minute before his brain acknowledged the facts first, and then his mouth and tongue moved to form the next word out of his mouth.

“Nines?!?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> About time, Nines.


	28. Of Light and Shadow

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I like your new hair, Nines.

No wonder he hadn’t been able to recognize the android upon a first glance. Nines looked absolutely different, and it was terrifying. In the last week and half that Gavin had been unable to get a hold of him, Nines was finally here in the flesh before Gavin’s eyes, and he looked totally like a new person altogether.

He’d changed his clothes, donning bolder punk and gothic fashions. Right now, on his feet he had completely monochrome black, All Star Converse sneakers with black laces. On his lower torso, he had on black, slim fit ribbed zipper jeans, and on his upper torso, he wore a brand-new punk zipper biker jacket that was as jet black as the night.

But that wasn’t all that was different about Nines’ appearance.

His hairstyle had also changed. Instead of a neatly cropped and shortly trimmed hairstyle that demanded grace and finesse, Nines now had an angular fringe hairstyle. The sides and back of the hairs on his skull were the same length as always, but in the front, his hair had been fashioned into bangs that almost covered majority of his forehead. It balanced his cheeks and cheekbones nicely, hid his LED light well enough, and had been styled to hang at an angle that made him look a bit younger, in Gavin’s opinion.

And to top it all off, his hair color was now as black as the very clothes he was wearing.

He really _had_ changed…

Groaning, Gavin snapped out of his state of awe, and he instead screamed from the top of his lungs, “Where the _fuck_ have you been?!”

A hand stretched before him calmly, and it stuck out right in front of Gavin’s nose. He must’ve been hurt pretty badly, for it took him nearly thirty seconds to notice that Nine was trying to help him up. Taking the offered hand in his own tightly, Gavin grit his teeth together as he was helped up on both his feet.

Not seeing how Nines’ right hand tentatively hung around his waist, cautious and prepared for a fall, Gavin gaped at Nines’ hair and over all, his clothing style. Taking a step back when his neck hurt from tilting it back to study the very top of Nines’ new hairstyle, Gavin found himself lost to deeper instances of awe, shock, and surprise. No, he was amazed that Nines had changed his entire persona and outward appearance.

But why had he??? Had he only done it because of Gavin’s prior comments about his hair needing to be changed??

Feeling slightly guilty if that were indeed true, Gavin gently nudged Nines in the chest. He realized that the android had been silent for too long, simply staring down at Gavin with a rather peculiar expression in his eyes that seemed to be tranquility…but then again, it could’ve also been a look of insouciance. Gavin couldn’t pinpoint which of the two it was specifically, but all he knew was that Nines had saved him; Nines had appeared out of thin fucking air after having been gone for nearly a full week and a half without a single word.

Amazing.

Huffing in anger, Gavin pushed his bangs and loose strands of hair back as he growled in a gravelly, hoarse voice, “All this time…all…” he coughed before he continued, “…you were gone all this time, ignored me, and for what??”

An eerily slow smile grew on Nines’ face, then, and Gavin could barely see the blue of the android’s LED light beaming at him from under all that curtain of hair. Nines seemed suddenly…taller?? At least to Gavin, he certainly did, and it bothered the detective. Feeling even more flustered than ever, Gavin was reduced to a state of viridity, though not by choice. He was aware of agathokakological phases co-existing within any individual, though perhaps more so in phases of development, but this didn’t exactly seem like a ‘phase’ Nines was going through.

While Gavin got lost in his thoughts and assumptions regarding Nines, the tall, darkly dressed android smirked as he tilted his head down at him. Softly sighing, Nines began in a voice above a whisper, “I’ve been rude, I apologize…” Eyes lighting up, he then asked, “How’ve you been, Reed?”

Finally, Gavin’s jaw fell wide open. “How’ve—how’ve I been?! Really, Nines?!” Rubbing his eyes and forehead angrily, he grumbled out, “I swear, I’m gettin’ too old for this shit!!!”

Still smiling down warmly at him, Nines purred, “Are you alright?”

Dropping his hand away from his face, Gavin asked, “What?”

Unaffected by that, Nines stared around the hallway and sighed, “They hurt you…” Staring at Gavin’s minor bruises and bloodied lips slowly swelling up, he then scanned the rest of his body swiftly. “You’re also coming down with a nasty cold, Reed.”

An absolutely baleful billow of air had started up in the hallway. Spinning around to survey his surroundings, Gavin winced when he saw the three unconscious men not too far away from himself. Each of them had been lying down in a rather odd, uncomfortable position, with Gary having the length of the chain looping around his forearm over to where Luke lay out cold flat on his back.

Turning back around to face Nines, Gavin whispered, “We’re gonna hear about this from Fowler tomorrow, aren’t we?”

Merely scoffing gently, Nines then hissed, “You’re the ‘detective’, Reed, why don’t _you_ tell me?”

“Nines!!” Gavin’s voice rang with scorn and disgust, “now’s _not_ the time to be a sarcastic douche!! Jesus Christ!!” Didn’t the damn android understand what had just happened?!? It was like Nines had somehow suddenly forgotten that there was such a thing as actions and consequences. It was truly bizarre to Gavin, especially considering how Nines was working as a law enforcement officer. He should’ve known about how the intricate details involved in dangerous situations would pan out, both for victims as well as perpetrators!

Well…at the best, Nines was an aggressor, but only to help Gavin…no, to save his life…

Nines had saved him…

Hanging his head down in obeisance, Gavin gratefully pressed out, “Nines, I’m honestly grateful you saved my life back there, but you—”

“Don’t mention it, Reed,” came the way-too-cheerful response, and Gavin’s head snapped up.

Still smiling gleefully, Nines continued, “However, rather than having you stand here beaten, battered, and shivering from the cold, how about we get you some place warmer so we can tend to those injuries? Hmm?”

…..

Something was terribly off about Nines, and it didn’t require for Gavin to work for years around the android to sense that. Just one look at the RK900 told Gavin that something was truly amiss. While Nines was smiling fully at Gavin, it was a smile more so for ‘show’ than an actual, genuine smile. Nines smiled more with his lips and mouth; not his eyes. His eyes looked sullen, regretful, exhausted, and spiritless.

Had Nines not so easily beaten the shit out of three men as effortlessly as he had, Gavin would’ve stated openly that he felt sorry for him. He wagered that Nines was only like this due to the sexually intimate experience they’d shared together, and the android likely had no idea what to say about it.

Suddenly, a painful thought rang out in Gavin’s head, bashing all around his skull before settling in the warm space between both his ears where it pooled and coiled like a serpent about to nest.

What if Nines regretted what had happened?!? What if he hated it, what if he hadn’t wanted to do that with him ever, what if he’d been forced, what if he’d done it all out of pity?!

Feeling overwhelmed by his thoughts burdening him so suddenly, Gavin swayed on his legs. He was almost certain that he was developing a fever, too, and on top of it all, he had to worry about potentially being fired, sued by three people and their families, and possibly locked away in jail for a while.

Perfect.

Nines caught him effortlessly at the last minute before he crashed forward. Holding him up powerfully in his grip, as Gavin’s vision swam and grew foggy, he found that his ears worked perfectly well enough to hear what Nines was whispering soothingly to him.

“Shh, I’ve got you, Gavin. Don’t worry,” he gently cooed as he wrapped an arm around Gavin’s waist, “I’m going to help you. We’re going home.”

Home…home sweet home.

Gavin held a tiny smile on his face, momentarily abandoning all thoughts of violence, hatred, malice, and horror that he knew he would no doubt have to face come morning, but for now, he at least wanted to go home to a warm bed ready and waiting.

~0~0~0~0~0

Gavin had fallen asleep on the way to Nines’ apartment. The ill detective was able to tell when he woke up in Nines’ bedroom with his boots and coat off, already curled beneath the thick, heavy blankets cozily. A warm cloth rested above on his forehead, and a heating pad rested around his neck and shoulders, providing comforting heat radiating into his stiff body.

How long was he asleep for?!?

Turning his head to the left, he peeked at the curtains, and they were pulled slightly apart to let in some light the moon, the stars, and the parking lot streetlights provided.

Sighing wearily, Gavin coughed as he stirred and shifted around on the bed. When he jerked up too quickly, he found his head throbbing, and then a large hand gently pressed down on the center of his chest.

Momentarily shocked, Gavin choked out, “Who--??”

“You shouldn’t move around so quickly, Reed,” came Nines’ deep, comforting voice like warm caresses on his skin, “you’re running a high fever.”

Shit. So it really _had_ been that bad, after all.

Plopping his head back down onto the fluffy pillow, Gavin moaned out, “What time is it?”

Nines’ tongue clicked against his lower teeth, “Only quarter after eight, Reed.”

What the fuck…not even two hours had gone by??? Why did it feel like it was already almost two in the morning??

Disoriented, Gavin opened his eyes, and he nasally ordered, “Turn on the damn light.”

“As you wish.” A moment later, the lights in the room were on, and every corner of the bedroom had been illumined.

Eyes aching as they adjusted to the sudden onslaught of light, Gavin hissed as he hid beneath the covers, and then slowly opened his eyes once again when he felt he was ready.

Nines wasn’t too far away, so he found. The android was seated on the edge of the bed, surprisingly, and though his biker jacket was off, Nines had worn a black pull off strings shirt.

Thinking it looked pretty cool, Gavin stated his honest opinion in his bleary state. “You look nice.”

Smiling, Nines nodded, “How do you feel?”

“Like trash,” Gavin threw back quickly, cradling his throat, “my throat really hurts.”

A dark look was instantly upon Nines’ face. “Yes,” he growled, “you have a sore throat, but your neck is also suffering semi-mild bruising from the attack you persevered through.”

“Don’t remind me, Nines,” Gavin sighed as he pushed the sheets down just to the middle of his chest. God, he really hated being sick. His body constantly was in a battle of indecisiveness, only due to the cold his immune system was trying to beat. He was both hot and cold simultaneously, and his stomach-although longing for solid meals-was also queasy and topsy-turvy.

He hated it.

Draping a hand across his forehead, he muttered, “I’m hungry, but I also feel like puking…”

Rising from the bed slowly and softly, Nines could hardly be heard moving about as he approached Gavin’s side. “You should eat something small, Reed,” he advised cautiously, LED light yellow beneath his long bangs styled downwards, “I’ve brought you some medicine, but I’m afraid it won’t work as effectively if you take it on an empty stomach.”

Almost like a little boy, Gavin whimpered fearfully, “But wh-what if I throw it a-all up?”

Not even hesitating, Nines truthfully gushed out, “Then I’ll take care of you, be with you through it, and try to nurse you back to health.”

Shaking his head in pure disbelief, Gavin asked, “Why’re you helpin’ me, Nines? I mean, could it be because of what happened between us?”

For once, Gavin both cursed himself for being so impulsive, and also congratulated himself for it. He felt liberated now that he’d asked Nines what he’d been meaning to ask for a week and a half. It was fitting to ask such a thing, of course, and he frankly wanted to also know why Nines had avoided him. Trying not to pressure the android, however, Gavin stared at him in silence, studying the patterns and designs in Nines’ shirt while he waited.

Though he didn’t have to wait for long, Gavin already had sensed that the reply he was going to receive wasn’t going to thrill him. Nines genuinely looked sorrowful and uncomfortable at the same time. His eyebrows tightened on his brow ridge, his lips were set in a thin, straight line, and his eyes narrowed into slits as he turned the blue depths down and cast them at the floor. It didn’t take a genius to read the displayed body language and decipher the signs and codes.

Nines was avoiding the topic, and he wasn’t too happy at all.

Raising his head, he whispered carefully, taking his time to select his words, “Reed, I’m not that shallow.”

Wincing, Gavin realized his previous question may have come off entirely the wrong way. Vowing to rectify it, he cleared his throat, which proved to be a stupid move when his throat burned and ached even more from it.

“Nines,” he rasped, cleared his throat gently this time, and then continued, “I didn’t mean it like that, I swear.”

Smiling almost sadly, Nines said, “That’s a relief, then, because I assumed that you were so upset that you were going to claim you didn’t remember it, and that I took advantage of you.”

Gasping mildly, then covering up for himself, Gavin wheezed painfully, “No, I mean, yeah, I was drunk, b-but I remembered it all fully w-well, Nines…I remember it like it happened yesterday,” he managed to push out as he blushed deeply into his own embarrassment.

Thankfully however, Nines wasn’t really staring at him, and due to how silent he’d been, Gavin began pulling on a small, loose thread in the blanket.

“Err, Nines?” he asked tentatively, “I’m not gonna report you, if that’s wh-what you were worried about…”

Staring up slowly at him, then, Nines asked, “You mean you wanted it to happen? Did you like it? Or…err…fuck…” Shaking his head, he laughed as he pushed bits of his bangs away before they stubbornly fell back down into his eyes the moment his hands were gone. “Sorry, Reed,” he laughed again, “I don’t know what I’m saying.”

Filling in for him quickly, Gavin said, “Look, I…it wasn’t bad, but like…”

Catching on quickly, Nines hissed out softly, “You don’t want a repeat incident of it?”

“Exactly,” Gavin answered in relief as he hung back and searched Nines’ face for any possible signs of discomfort, unease, anger, or sadness. Thankfully however, none of that was there at all. In fact, Nines looked to be just as relieved as Gavin, except he didn’t really advertise it on the same mass level.

Hanging on the thought before it turned into a fleeting one, Gavin asked, “You’re not upset or anything, are you?”

Something pulled in the center of the taciturn android’s eyes for a moment afterwards, but since it was such a quick thing to happen, and due to how sick Gavin was, he’d missed it. Gone as soon as it appeared, Nines smiled widely as he only replied with, “No, of course I’m not angry, Reed. I want you to be comfortable, and as long as you don’t think you were taken advantage of, then I suppose we can just work on moving past it.”

That was a great suggestion! If only his other failed relationships and one-nighters held the same attitude!

Smiling-albeit tiredly-Gavin nodded, “Appreciate it, Nines.”

Humming a rich, deep sound that radiated warmth, the android moved back towards the dresser, and he grabbed a tiny pill that was resting next to what appeared to be a bowl of soup propped on a plate. Gavin knew he really was getting sick if a bowl of steaming soup couldn’t have been detected by his damn nose.

Gripping the bowl as he slid the pill next to it on the plate, Nines then walked over to Gavin’s side. Kneeling slightly, he asked, “Do you think you can consume most of this?”

Not even bothering to sniff it, Gavin inquired, “Is it chicken noodle?”

“Chicken broth,” Nines corrected, “I’m afraid I didn’t have noodles, but if you wait for maybe ten minutes, I can go down the street and—”

“Nines, relax,” Gavin cried out before a tiny sneeze interrupted him. Wiping his mouth and nose with a soft, white tissue Nines handed to him, he sat back and then blew his nose one last time as Nines steadied the plate and bowl onto his lap. Carefully balancing it and making sure it rested properly on Gavin’s lap, Nines then slid the box of tissues on the night table next to the bed a little closer for Gavin.

Smiling in appreciation, Gavin held onto the warm bowl, and even though it was far too hot for his body given how deeply he was buried and nestled beneath the sheets, he knew it was good for him.

Staring at the tissue box, Nines softly stated, “I hope that should be everything to make your experience a little less unbearable, but if you need anything else, I’m going to be outside in the living space.”

Waving a weak, tiny wave, Gavin rasped, “Okay, Nines.”

“Make sure you have enough in your stomach before you take the pill, else you’ll—”

“Throw up,” Gavin interpolated uncomfortably, “yeah, I won’t forget, Nines.”

With an affirming nod, the tall android rose from the side of the bed, and he walked towards the door. Right as he was closing it, Gavin suddenly felt something was terribly missing…yes, yes there was…

Coughing once to demand for attention, he watched as Nines ceased walking, and then Gavin cried out, “Th-thank you!”

Frozen for a moment, Nines simply stared down at the foot of the bed before his eyes slowly swam up the length of Gavin’s body lying on the bed. As if seeing him for the first time ever, Nines tilted his head curiously. His eyes then flooded with recognition and sensibility, and he whispered back just as kindly, “You’re welcome, Reed.”

Looking away nervously for a moment, Gavin coughed out, “Tomorrow…Fowler—”

“We’ll worry about that in the morning,” Nines asserted, and Gavin nodded curtly.

“Goodnight, Reed,” Nines bid him his parting, the door squeaking as he made to close it once again.

Then, as the door closed and sounded out its confirmation ‘click’, Gavin still felt something was missing. Although in his delirious, dizzy state, he couldn’t think of all too clearly and point it out even for himself, he knew he would have to eventually return to it at some point. It could’ve been something that either helped or tormented him until he properly remembered it. Staring down at his steaming soup, he only prayed it would liberate him whenever he remembered it…

_If _he remembered it, anyway.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Brb, going to find a super nice bf to take care of me like Nines does for Gavin.


	29. Justice and Order

Captain Fowler was indeed livid the next morning. He was livid and exploding with rage, which hadn’t been the worst of it. The worst thing Gavin discovered the next day, was that his cold symptoms had gotten worse, unfortunately. But that didn’t instill any sort of mercy or pity within the Police Chief at all. The moment Mischa, Gary, and Luke entered his office sporting purple-blue bruises all over while limping and cringing as they were barely able to sit down, Captain Fowler soon pieced everything together.

He still permitted the men to all have their say and their own input, but he called Nines and Gavin into his office shortly thereafter. Sneezing and holding his wad of tissues up to his nose, Gavin blinked back hot tears for the twentieth time that morning as he sat down in the corner as far away from the three men Nines had beaten up just the other night.

For a while, no one said anything, and the only thing that could be heard in the office was Fowler’s sharp, ragged panting and breathing. Gavin was certain his own thrumming, beating heart could also be heard among the dead silence, but he remained quiet to the end as he felt Nines brushing up against him as he stood calmly and quietly.

Mischa Barker’s neck was wrapped in a brace of sorts, while Luke’s entire jaw sported the nastiest bruises Gavin had ever seen. His cheeks and chin were swollen, and he kept his eyes glued down firmly to the floor since Nines proudly walked in. Gary Foster wasn’t intimidated, however; he glared openly and boldly at Nines while he had bandages, wrapping, gauze, as well as fresh stitches around the corner of his lips. He looked by far the worst, and it pained Gavin to even peek at him.

Brutal.

After moments of uneasy quiet, Captain Fowler let out a heavy, strained sigh. Sitting back on his chair, he dug his fingernails into his desk, and he nearly clawed away at it like a feral beast. His fingernails sounded horrifying as they ran up and down the desk, and as he shifted himself on his chair, it clicked beneath his heavy weight. Eyes twitching, Fowler stared at every single person in his office for many minutes, and Gavin knew then that the man was truly on the verge of exploding.

God help them all.

Still fighting to keep his voice low so others outside in the bullpen wouldn’t hear anything, Fowler growled thickly right at the center of his desk, as if he were speaking to it rather than to the men currently occupying his office space. “Would anyone like to tell me just what the actual fuck happened last night?!”

Immediately, Gary sniped, “Sir, we already told you! We were on our way out, and then Nines suddenly attacked us, and Gavin joined in on it!!”

Not even sparing a moment in spite of his throat killing him, Gavin roared, “He’s lying!!” 

“REED!” Fowler warned in a bombastic tone of voice that shook the office walls and floor. Clearly, his self-control had waned, and now, he didn’t appear to care about the volume or the tone of his voice.

Settling back almost forcefully, Fowler huffed as his chest heaved up and down. “Let me ask Nines,” he emphasized again before Gary could jump in, “I said _Nines_ only gets to talk, are we clear?!”

Nodding as he shut his mouth, Gary looked down in submission, while Mischa trembled uncontrollably again just like last night.

Feeling his gut clenching if Nines had to regale the barbarous version of events, Gavin shivered both from the cold as well as the awful violence he’d been involved in just the previous night. He knew this was required, however, in order for Fowler to hear and dole out the necessary punishments, but he didn’t want to actually be in the room while it happened. Plus, he was the victim, and he supposed once he explained his side, he would leave and be done with this!

At least, he hoped.

However, before Nines could utter a single word, the door to the office banged open wildly, and heavy footsteps boomed inside quite hurriedly. A second later, a gruff voice gasped out, “Gary! Shit!!!”

Everyone in the office knew to whom that voice belonged to…it was Captain Allen, Gary’s distant relative.

…And this was precisely why Gavin felt frightened and sick; they never should’ve fucked around with someone related to the brutal, insane S.W.A.T. team leader.

As Captain Allen stormed in, striding about like he owned the world, his eyes swept over Gary’s face for a moment, and then he drew himself closer to Luke and finally Mischa. Acquiring all the evidence necessary for an explosion, he directly turned on Nines and Gavin.

Eyes bloodshot, he screamed from the top of his lungs, “THE FUCK DID YOU TWO DO TO MY COUSIN’S KID AND HIS BUDDIES?!?!”

Trying to deescalate the situation, Fowler stood to his full height as he leaned over the desk and stuck a thick arm out as a barrier of sorts between Captain Allen’s body and Gavin’s. “ALLEN!!! BACK OFF THEM FOR A MOMENT!! NOW!!”

Unrelenting, Captain Allen roared, “FUCK THIS, JEFFREY! LOOK WHAT THEY DID TO GARY!!! YOU’RE GONNA LET THEM JUST—” Pausing, he stared at Nines for a moment, and then he snorted, “The fuck?! Why’re you looking so different?”

“That’s what I’m wondering,” Fowler added in, staring again at Nines for a long time until the android shifted.

The android was wearing black Doc Martens on his feet, torn, black skinny jeans, a black dress shirt that was short-sleeved, as well as a red tie that hung in the center from the neck. Although Nines’ appearance was indeed a rather odd, amusing spectacle, Gavin knew they had other things to worry about for the time being.

Apparently, Luke was already on that frame of thought. “I’m suing,” he growled out, pointing at Nines as he screamed, “this son of a bitch attacked me with a fucking chain!!!”

Face scrunching into something horribly unpleasant, Captain Allen gasped, “A _chain_???” Turning on Fowler, then, he added in a ghastly way, “JEFFREY!! That’s an assault with a deadly weapon, and you’re just gonna sit there and do jack shit about it?!”

“Wait, Allen, wait!” Fowler cried out, this time making his way around his desk as he held Captain back from leaping ahead at Gavin and Nines.

While he tried calming the angry S.W.A.T. Captain down, the man screamed out all sorts of profanities at Gavin and Nines, made horrific threats promising revenge, as well as flung out nasty words and jabs at Nines and Gavin as individuals.

Blocking majority of it out, Gavin held his tissue to his lips as he moaned out in exhaustion, “Gary and Luke attacked me first, Allen! So why don’t you fuckin’ sit back and think about that for a moment before you threaten to kick my ass?!”

It didn’t matter to Captain Allen.

Bucking up against Fowler’s thick, strong body, he defiantly cried out, “You’re not a fuckin’ victim, Reed, so why don’t you shut your fuckin’ mouth and—”

“ARE YOU DEAF?” Gavin took his turn to scream out, immediately regretting it as his throat burned and reminded him how sick he was, “THEY ATTACKED ME!”

Eyes widening drastically as equally innocent expressions carved the way on both Luke’s and Gary’s face, the two men faced Captain Allen as they cried out in protest, “That’s horseshit!!! Gavin and his psycho android fuckin’ cornered us and beat the shit out of us for no damn reason!!!”

Casting Gavin a smoldering look, then, Captain Allen pointed at him above Fowler’s head as he spat out, “Watch your fucking back from now on, Reed, you hear me?” He chuckled cruelly, “Watch your fuckin’ back if you know what’s good for you.”

“Are you threatening me?!” Gavin screamed, but then Fowler interrupted with a mighty roar of his own.

Once things had settled down only slightly due to his beastly noise, Fowler bellowed out at them all, “EVERYONE SHUT THE FUCK UP!!!”

Obediently, all the men in the office piped down, though they glared away at each other as they no doubt promised murder and violence continuously.

Spinning around in a circle so he could address them all, Fowler continued, “Everyone will get their turn to explain what happened, but for now, I’m afraid I’m gonna have to put you _all _under suspended leave _without pay_!!”

Blurting out their protests, Luke, Captain Allen, and Gary began arguing, while Mischa held his head in his hands and cried out weakly.

Waving his hands in the air, Fowler cried from the top of his lungs, “I said you will _all _have your piece, but until a proper investigation is done and this shit is looked into, you’re all going to have to fuck off out of here!!”

“For how long?!” Gary screamed uncontrollably, while Gavin broke out coughing in shock and rage.

Staring at him in disgust, Fowler snapped, “Three weeks.”

Mischa wept, “B-but…it’s November 23rd, and that means we won’t be—”

“You’re banned from the DPD Christmas Party, yes,” Fowler answered for him, “tough shit, Barker.”

Shaking his head back and forth as a sneer crossed his face, Captain Allen spat with pure venom, “You’re handling this perfectly well, Jeffrey, thank you.” Clapping sarcastically, he then reached out for Gary, and he gripped him tightly by the shoulder. “Come on,” he whispered to the younger man he was related to, “let’s get the hell outta here.”

Not wanting to sit back in silence, as Captain Allen and Gary left, Gavin steadied himself back up as he snorted at Fowler, “Sir, with all due respect, they told me to quit my damn job, and they threatened that if I didn’t, they would attack me.” Staring past Luke’s heated gaze, he then elucidated, “I’m sure _you_ would take that seriously as well, so please tell me how the fuck it’s fair for me to be suspended now for three fuckin’ weeks when I did nothing wrong??”

“I never claimed it was fair, Gavin,” Fowler snapped back while Mischa and Luke limped back towards the door, trying to communicate with Captain Allen and Gary as they slowly disappeared.

“But it’s what you get,” Fowler continued coldly, “at least until I can get to the bottom of this shit.”

“Unbelievable, Jeffrey,” Gavin coughed violently, wrapping his arms around himself as he leaned back and bumped into Nines. Staring at him for a moment, he then addressed his boss as he said quietly, “Look, Nines wouldn’t just up and attack anyone without a good reason, so why don’t you listen for a moment before you boot us out of here, Jeffrey?”

He was grabbed roughly a second later by the shoulder, and then Gavin saw himself being dragged over to a window behind Fowler’s desk. With a thick finger, Fowler pointed out his office at the top floor of the building. “Son, would you like to head on upstairs to HR yourself and have this same chat with them?” he asked crudely, “because I doubt you’d be able to handle those motherfuckers, and trust me, this is me makin’ _your_ job easier, and I’m trying to clean up _your_ damn mess!!”

Wriggling out from Fowler’s powerful grip, Gavin righted himself as he leaned against the cold window. Shivering due to how icy it felt against his weak body, he mumbled out, “You…you don’t even give a shit, do you?”

Leaning into him, Fowler’s overbearing glare was what made Gavin turn his eyes down to the floor.

“Son,” came Fowler’s deep, serious growl, “believe me, if I _didn’t_ care, I’d just leave you to the wolves and monsters out there. I’m doing this for _you_, but I need you to co-operate with me for _once_ in your damn life.”

Could he do that??? Could he trust that Fowler would indeed handle everything effectively and appropriately???

Staring up at his superior’s dark, wise eyes, Gavin saw a twinkle there in the center of the depths, and he let out a tiny sigh.

“Alright, Jeffrey.”

He would never admit aloud that he wasn’t convinced…not by a long shot.

~0~0~0~0~0

It was Saturday morning again, but it wasn’t a Saturday Gavin was looking forward to. Still sicker than a dog, he now had the heavy burden and knowledge of being without pay and without work for a full month on his shoulders as he threw box upon box of his autumn and spring attire down into his hallway closet.

Since he had time off again, he decided to clean his apartment, but also take time to think about how to find good homes for his growing kittens. That was going to be quite the challenge, and Gavin hated to admit it, but a part of himself didn’t want to send the kittens away. He’d raised them, grown attached to them, and he loved each and every single one of them. It was like sending a teenager off to live on their own, and he didn’t like the idea of doing that. How could he part with his kittens???

Not wanting to think about it, he instead decided to distract himself yet again. He would call his mother.

Unsure of her schedule as far as her teaching went, Gavin knew it was the right thing to do to reach out just to see how she was, at least before she called him and accused him of being an uncaring pig, or some shit like that. That was the last damn thing he needed to hear right now.

Tapping her number on his phone, he sat back on the floor next to his closet, putting on a fake smile as the phone rang twice before she answered.

Deciding to opt for a video call, Gavin hit the camera icon on his screen, and once his mother accepted, they were connected ‘face-to-face’.

Her office came into full view as Gavin held his phone up, and he saw quite the number of Christmas cards and gifts already piled up on her desk as she pushed her laptop to the side and glowered at him.

Well…that wasn’t a nice greeting, but he wasn’t all that shocked.

Waving awkwardly, he grunted, “Hey mom.”

Sneering, she spat while she waved her hands at her papers, files, laptop, books, and binders, “Why’re you calling me right now? Can’t you see I have work to do?”

Eyeing her mountain of papers and books sprawled out everywhere on the surface of her desk, Gavin chuckled. “Well, it’s good one of us is working, anyway.”

Sighing, she rolled her eyes as she crossed her arms and took off her reading glasses. “You got yourself suspended again, didn’t you?”

Yes, this wasn’t the first time he’d been suspended, but he didn’t want to tell her for how long it was, and he certainly omitted the fact that he wasn’t being paid during his suspension.

Shrugging coolly, he focused on the ice and snow covering her office windows behind her as he grunted out deeply, “How’s the weather there?”

She turned to peer out her window, and then spun back around in her chair as she shrugged as well. “Cold as a witch’s tit, Gavin,” came her snide answer, “how about you?”

Taking a moment to study his mother, Gavin suddenly noticed that she seemed extra stressed out, and extra tired. But something else lingered there on the other side of the screen…she seemed…thinner?? Paler??? He truthfully wasn’t sure. Perhaps, in his weakened, delirious state, he was imagining things…

On cue, his thoughts were interrupted by abrupt coughing, and he felt the powerful waves breaking through himself as he shook and let everything out. His throat tightened and ached, his nose burned even more, and still, the tremors didn’t stop coming.

A look of concern came over his mother, and she gasped lightly, “Shit, you’re sick, too?”

Nodding as he finished his coughing, Gavin waved at her eventually as he wheezed through his teeth, “It happens.”

Staring around as her eyes shifted past him, then, his mother asked, “Where’s your fiancé?”

Freezing up, Gavin cleared his throat to provide an answer, but his mother let out a strained sigh, clearly having arrived at her own conclusions already.

“Did you fight with him as well, then?” she accused, tsking as she shook her head, “smart move, Gavin.”

“I didn’t fight with him,” Gavin argued back, “I just—AHHH!!!” He’d been interrupted when the sensation of sharp claws dug into his thighs, and as he stared down while trying not to drop his phone, he caught the sight of two kittens scratching playfully at his jeans. They’d torn through the fabric, but he didn’t mind.

Reaching down, he pet their heads gently while chuckling.

His mother pressed a hand against her chest, and she cried out, “You almost gave me a damn heart attack, Gavin! What the hell happened?!”

Answering truthfully, he sighed, “It was the kittens clawin’ at me, relax.”

As she relaxed and calmed down considerably, she inquired, “They must be big, now, can I see them?”

“Sure,” pointing the phone down at the two currently writhing on his lap, Gavin heard his mother cooing and laughing heartily when she saw the kittens playing innocently.

“Aww, my grandbabies are having a good time!” She amused herself as she sat back and watched the kittens for a moment, and then asked Gavin in a serious tone, “What’re you doing back in your own apartment, by the way?”

Glaring back at her as he stared into the screen, Gavin cried, “Mom, I just wanted some space, holy fuck…why’re you making such a huge deal out of it?”

“Don’t bullshit me, Gavin,” she argued heatedly, “I’ve gone through plenty of breakups to recognize the signs of trouble in paradise when it’s so blatantly obvious.”

Immediately on the defensive side, Gavin roared, “Oooh, I’m sorry, mom, but _how_ many years has it been exactly since you had a man in your life?!”

He’d intended for this to hurt and scar her, but all it did was make her shake her head as she closed her eyes and straightened her reading glasses on the bridge of her nose.

Taking her time, she created enough tension within her own son before she softly replied, “I may not have had a man for quite some time, Gavin, you’re right…” Then, a very serious expression took over her face as she stared directly through the screen and practically into Gavin’s soul. “…I may have been single for some time, but I’ll let you know, I’ve been around men far longer than you have.”

The apartment around Gavin grew horribly quiet, but then the wind outside blew by powerfully, making his windows rattle. Air sucked in and out beneath doorframes, howling monstrously as mother and son glared away at each other for many long minutes.

Finally, Carrie broke the silence. “How was dinner with Marsha?” she asked coldly, and Gavin only shrugged.

“Ask her yourself,” he snapped at her, though it lacked any true bite and malice before he started coughing again.

Holding up a bony finger, Carrie hissed, “Cough syrup; ask your boyfriend to get you some.”

Wincing, Gavin wheezed out, “Get back to work.”

“I was just getting to that,” his mother retorted, “cough syrup, and rest up before you get worse.”

“Goodbye, mom.”

“Goodbye, Gavin.”

They disconnected at the exact same time.

~0~0~0~0~0

It was late Sunday afternoon when Gavin found himself texting Nines yet again. He couldn’t help it, though; he was bored, but he was also incredibly pissed, and when Gavin Reed was pissed, he needed to vent and rant out his frustrations to someone who listened empathetically enough. Right now, Nines proved to be just that excellent soundboard, and he listened and texted Gavin back as the disgruntled male raged on and on for almost an hour.

**Gavin Reed, 1:49 p.m.**

**Fowler didn’t even let u talk.**

**Fuck Stick Plastic Prick, 1:50 p.m.**

**I noticed.**

**Gavin Reed, 1:50 p.m.**

**that doesnt bug u?**

**Fuck Stick Plastic Prick, 1:50 p.m.**

**Not really.**

**Gavin Reed, 1:51 p.m.**

**Daaaamn Nines, pretty sonte cold, huh?**

Staring up from his phone, he felt his fingers aching from the cold, and it only contributed to more typos along the way. Still, he didn’t want to stop texting Nines; he was actually enjoying their conversation.

**Fuck Stick Plastic Prick, 1:52 p.m.**

**Speaking of colds, you know you’re not getting any better, right?**

**Gavin Reed, 1:53 p.m.**

**i kno. **

“Why do you care, Nines?” he asked out loud, massaging his back as he got up from his kitchen chair and paced around. His entire body felt battered and broken, but it was more from the cold getting worse. Not wanting to stuff his system with painkillers, however, Gavin decided to ‘tough it out’. Unfortunately, it wasn’t doing well for him in the slightest.

Eyes watering from the pain, he read Nines’ next text message and gasped.

**Fuck Stick Plastic Prick, 1:54 p.m.**

**Calling you.**

A moment later, the phone did ring, and Gavin answered it before it got to the second ring.

“Yeah?”

A deep chuckle met his ears, “That was a speedy reaction.”

Blushing, Gavin hissed, “I didn’t want the damn phone ringing away and make my headache worse.” Cringing at himself for bitching and complaining already, he racked his brains trying to think of a way to cover that up, but Nines was already chuckling in amusement.

“Why don’t you come over for a bit?” he suggested, “I can take care of you and hopefully provide good company for you until you get well.”

His heart sank, and Gavin felt his mouth and throat turning dry.

“Nines,” he croaked out, “I appreciate that, but I’ve got kittens to look after, and I need to get ready to somehow find them good homes.” Coughing violently, he was actually more so grateful for his cold and his bodily reactions; he didn’t know why, but Nines’ offer of taking care of him was…shocking. Needless to say, Gavin didn’t respond to it well, and he tried hiding his mortification and shock through his coughing fit.

When he’d calmed down, Nines suggested, “So bring the kittens along with yourself, then!”

Freezing mid-cough, Gavin snorted, “Wha??”

“You heard,” Nines drawled, “bring them over; we can find them good homes together.”

Slowly smiling, Gavin nodded as he stared down at a kitten that had taken an interest in playing with his boot laces. It batted the object between its paws and chewed away at it, tail swishing back and forth as it purred in delight.

“Two heads are better than one,” Gavin supplied, “I get it.”

“Come on over,” Nines hummed deeply, “I’ll leave the door unlocked for you.”

Gavin found he didn’t even want to reject the offer.


	30. Better Than Nothing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What Nines is wearing in this chapter:  
https://www.rebelsmarket.com/products/punk-rock-black-wool-button-up-slim-fit-t-shirt-with-leather-and-hoops-for-men-165803

It was nearly three in the afternoon by the time Gavin gently placed all six kittens in a large cardboard box and drove them over toward Nines’ apartment. Surprisingly, they all were relatively well-behaved, and they hardly made any sounds of protest or made moves to leap out of the box for the entire ride. Such well-behaved babies!!!

Carrying them towards Nines’ apartment door, Gavin found that it was open ajar as Nines said it would be. Boldly, he knocked once before pushing it open the rest of the way with his shoulder.

“Honey, I’m home!” he joked, and then regretted it immediately. God damn his stupid mouth sometimes.

Gentle footsteps padded their way down the hall towards him, and Gavin smiled bashfully once he saw Nines approach and then stand before him. The android wore black socks, thin, black denim jeans, and a punk rock black wool button up slim fit t-shirt with leather and hoops weaving around the sides and front of the shirt.

Beaming at him, Nines welcomed him in with an outstretched hand. “Good afternoon, Reed.”

“Hey Nines,” Gavin replied, and as he stared down at Nines’ hands, he frowned mildly. Those were the same hands that had beaten up three men with perfect ease…

Eyeing his disgruntled expression, Nines’ face took on a conflicted nature before he softly rasped, “Everything alright?”

Shaking out of his stupor, Gavin blurted out on the spot, “Oh…yeah…um…was just thinkin’…nah…” His face scrunched up, “Forget it.”

Clearly, Nines didn’t want to simply ‘forget it’. Stepping closer to Gavin, he nudged and probed him verbally, “It’s okay, what did you want to tell me?”

Thinking quickly, Gavin responded with, “Oh, it’s just gonna take some getting used to seein’ your new style and hair…that’s all.”

Looking rather hurt, Nines asked, “Is it…bad?”

…...

“Oh! No! Fuck no!” Gavin pushed out quickly, not wanting to stall for time and have Nines not believe him, “It’s different for sure, but not a bad different.” Eyes sweeping down Nines form, he unwittingly added, “I mean, it’d be cool also if you got a fancy tattoo or somethin’ to go along with it all, but meh, it’s a good look either way for you, Nines.”

As he stared up to meet the android’s blue eyes, Gavin saw a sharp, penetrating look bearing down into his own eyes once he made eye contact with Nines. It wasn’t anything offensive or cruel, however. It teetered on the edge of mild indifference, before Nines’ demeanor changed abruptly.

Thinking that his officious tone had put the tall android off, Gavin apologetically gazed down as he stated, “Sorry, it’s none of my business either way, Nines.”

A tiny smile was upon the android’s face, and then Nines brushed back a few messy strands of his raven-colored hair. “It’s fine, Reed,” he drawled lazily, “I like hearing your opinions.”

Suddenly, a few loud meows and tapping emanated from the cardboard box Gavin was holding.

Leaping up slightly, he chuckled as he set the box down, “Sorry, they’re a bit uneasy after having been in the car for so darn long.”

As they both bent to peer into the box, a tiny white and orange paw batted up into the air and waved erratically a few times. It made Gavin break out into a chuckle, and he gently reached down inside and picked up one of the kittens.

Nines grinned widely, “Ahh, the whole family then, I take it?”

Setting the kitten down to explore its temporary home, Gavin elucidated calmly, “Well, ma’s gone, but I guess being a single dad isn’t so bad, right?”

Snickering along with him for a moment, Nines sported a fist beneath his chin as he remained bent on his knees, gazing down at the little kittens while one by one, Gavin pulled them out of the box and allowed them to roam free. They soon chased each other, while the more fearful ones took cover beneath the sofa and other bits of furniture. Their mewls and hisses rang out in the warm air as they stretched their limbs out and observed everything in sight.

While their tiny paws and claws skittered and clattered about on the floor, Nines turned to Gavin. Now that they were at the same eye-level perfectly, they gaped at each other for a moment before Nines pushed out, “So, how do you want to go about finding good owners and homes for the kittens, Reed?”

Although it was in intriguing question, Gavin felt a small portion of his worries and sadness could be driven away. Smiling as he thought about it, he quickly replied, “Well, Hank said he’ll take one…you know.” He snorted as he lightly elucidated, “Kinda like a new friend for Sumo.”

Nines nodded slowly as he took that information in. “That’s good, but what about the others?”

Yes…again, the sad, somber feelings had returned blindingly, and they nearly made Gavin crash down to the floor. Feeling weaker than ever, he gripped the edge of the sofa, and he got up to his feet. Nines stayed crouched, however, gazing playfully under the couch at a pair of bright yellow, shiny feline eyes regarding him curiously.

Running a hand through his hair, Gavin grunted out with difficulty for various reasons, “Should we make flyers lettin’ people know about the kittens?”

Shaking his head while staring away at the kitten, Nines replied smoothly, “No, that may take a while; let’s just post the ad on Craigslist.”

“Cool,” Gavin conceded, “if someone creepy shows up, at least I don’t have to worry about being robbed or beaten up, right? Haha…” Although he’d meant for it to be taken completely as a foolish joke, he soon came to the conclusion that it hadn’t been the wisest thing to say.

Nines stared at his own hands, remaining silent while the kitten hiding away beneath the sofa poked its head out and seemed to trust him enough to venture forward slowly. Standing out of its way, Gavin also turned on his heels, feeling anger, resentment, and mortification sweeping into his mind and system.

This _still_ was technically Nines’ own doing. If only he hadn’t—

No.

It wasn’t proper to lash out for now. He could’ve wound up in the hospital, horribly battered, possibly paralyzed, or worse.

Pushing aside those gruesome, dark thoughts, Gavin backed away as he unzipped his coat and went to hang it up in the hallway closet. He was certain he could feel Nines’ blue eyes on his form the entire time.

~0~0~0~0~0

“I have five tiny kittens looking for a good home. Three are male, two are female. I’m located at one-seventy-seven Portland Street, in the brown apartment building to the right. Let me know if you’re interested by either texting or calling me at—” pausing, Gavin frowned as he snorted in derision, “not sure if leavin’ my cell number up here for strangers is wise, Nines.”

“Use mine, then,” the android responded, waiting patiently until Gavin rolled his eyes and resumed reading the ad they’d composed together on his phone.

“Call or text me and we’ll set up a time. The kittens aren’t declawed or vaccinated, however. Thank you.”

Sitting back next to Nines on the sofa, he sighed as one kitten rested on his lap, one was on Nines’ lap, and another was somewhere between his back and the sofa back resting behind himself. It was very warm, of course, but Gavin needed his eyes on the kittens at all times. The last thing he wanted was to clean up Nines’ orderly apartment when he was still sick as all hell.

Eyes reading one last time over the ad, Nines concluded, “I think it’s fine; send it off.”

“You mean post it,” Gavin corrected, turning in his seat once he felt a warm, fuzzy tail tickling his lower back. Fingers gently wrapping around the midriff of a kitten, he grabbed the small animal and placed her over next to her sleeping brother currently on Gavin’s lap.

The other sibling resting on Nines’ lap opened an eye lazily, then yawned, sharp teeth gleaming as her ears pulled back slightly. Finally, she nuzzled Nines’ legs, and went back to sleep.

Smirking down at her, Nines commented, “I can see why you don’t really want to let them go, Reed; they sure are cute.”

“Mhm,” Gavin hummed, hitting ‘post ad’ and watching as the darn thing loaded up with his ad posted first under the category: ‘Pets’. Turning to Nines, then, he asked while avoiding eye contact, “Do you think they’ll respond quickly?”

Nines only shrugged, “Who can say, really?” Staring down at the kitten on his lap, he added, “You should figure out which kitten you’re going to be giving Hank, Detective.”

……

“Oh, yeah,” he was slowly waking up to that, but it wasn’t something he wanted to think about for too long. What did it matter, anyway?? Asking this very same question, Gavin intoned to Nines, “Well, does it matter? I mean, Sumo gets along with anyone, really.”

A large hand came down on the back of the kitten currently resting in his lap, and Nines began stroking the little animal gently. “It’s not that easy, Reed,” he chuckled while the kitten arched its back and let out deep, loud purrs of gratitude for the attention lavished upon itself. “Sumo has been alone for a long time, save for Hank,” Nines stated factually, “you should take a kitten Hank may want, and just for a few hours, you should observe and check whether they will even get along.”

“Settling in, right,” Gavin sighed, stretching his legs as he very carefully picked up the kitten sleeping in his lap and set him down next to his two sisters. Staring away at the other male kittens playing about and thankfully not really destroying anything or otherwise getting into trouble, he felt his stomach burning and aching from hunger. One peek at his phone told him that it was almost past 4 p.m.; he needed to eat.

Almost uncomfortably, Gavin peered at the coffee table, unable to shake off the odd feeling he received when he learned that Nines was still staring at him. The way Nines was regarding him was merely out of curiosity, it seemed. As his head tilted in time with the ways in which Gavin’s eyes and neck moved about while trying to evade those eyes, the android’s pitch-black hair and bangs swayed slightly. Gavin thought the new fringe hairstyle really suited Nines well, but he kept that thought to himself only for the time being. It did well for his features and chiseled face, and the black contrasted with his white skin so nicely, that his freckles almost were impossible to see, now.

As he’d been studying Nines quite intently, the android stared back resolutely. Having gathered some courage, Nines glanced over at Gavin’s mouth before peeking up at the rest of his facial features; taking in his lightly colored blue-grey eyes, noticing the long eyelashes framing those round eyes, and finally, his gaze fell back again down to those lush, pink lips.

In the heavy silence, the short detective couldn’t help but gulp slightly when he looked up to find Nines glancing back at him. The android seemed to be equally studying Gavin’s face and moving ever so slightly closer. Without even thinking as he relied on innate, natural feelings and sensations, Gavin found himself unknowingly leaning closer to Nines. His own warm tongue tentatively wet his lips as he glanced down at the android’s slightly parted lips and mouth.

Nines was also gazing quite seriously at Gavin’s mouth, and he leaned in ever so closely…

Suddenly, Gavin felt one of the kittens starting to fumble with his socks by clawing at them. It did well to snap him out of what he’d been about to do, and the moment was over. Practically leaping right off the sofa, he rasped uncontrollably, “I-I better go g-g-get some food…”

Moving back towards the opposite end of the sofa, Nines frowned in confusion. Staring out the window, he pointed out, “Reed, it’s snowing again.”

Clumsily swaying, Gavin sighed, “Yeah, that tends to happen around this time of year, Nines.”

“No, Reed,” Nines tenderly pet the kitten on his lap one final time, and then scooted the little feline on the seat Gavin had once sat down on. The animal stirred, yawned, arched her back while stretching, and then leapt off the sofa without another word.

“It’s too cold for you to be wandering around outside,” Nines pressed on, standing up to his full height and towering over Gavin. Though not meaning to be intimidating, Nines continued wisely, “You’re not well, still. How about I go and get you what you want, okay?”

One look out the window followed by hearing how badly the wind howled outside was enough for Gavin to make up his mind. Taking Nines up on his offer, he sighed, “Okay, but if it’s not much to ask, can you also maybe pick up some cough syrup?” Pointing at his throat, he expounded, “I’m not able to get rid of this fuckin’ cough for long before it bounces back with a vengeance.”

Nodding once curtly, Nines replied, “I’ll be sure to do that, Reed.” Remaining civil as he picked up his trench coat from the closet hanger once Gavin followed him into the hall, he asked, “What do you want for supper?”

Not even having to think about it, Gavin shyly asked, “You remember that Cantonese place we ordered from last time?”

Nines’ smile told him that yes, he did remember.

“I umm…yeah,” Gavin fumbled for his words, “I wouldn’t mind that again.”

“Alright, Reed.”

“Thanks, Nines.”

Watching as the android slipping into dark, heavy winter boots and pulled his hood over his mop of black hair, Gavin had nearly called out, ‘Come back fast.’

Thank goodness for self-control, otherwise, he would face severe embarrassment.

~0~0~0~0~0

Nines stood behind the counter of the small Asian store while he waited for Gavin’s meal. Already thinking ahead of time, he’d made a quick stop at a tiny grocery for cat food. He’d realized that Gavin had forgotten to bring some with him, and he hoped the cans and packages he’d purchased would be enough for the little felines running about in his apartment energetically.

As he was lost in his thoughts, the chef’s ‘grandmother’ and ‘daughter’ wandered over towards him, though the little android girl didn’t try to strike up a conversation with him. Hanging behind her ‘grandmother’, she giggled cutely as she waved at him in a friendly manner.

Waving back, Nines smiled, and then directed his smile at ‘grandmother’. The elderly lady smiled in return, though she didn’t speak. Nines assumed she wasn’t strong or fluent in English, but he felt more relieved that even if she was, she didn’t seem to want to engage him in a conversation. Truthfully, he wasn’t sure how he’d be able to handle it if she wanted to talk, anyway. Already, far too much was on his mind regarding Gavin…

A piercing blue LED light suddenly beamed brightly into his eyes, and as he stared straight into it, he heard a little effeminate squeal, and then footsteps retreated. He only saw the back of the android child’s head as she ran away from him while giggling excitedly.

Moments later, steam blew out from the kitchen, and it was a nice contrast compared to how cold it was outside. The chef soon exited from the cooking station, and just like last time, he held out his hand expectantly once he tore his glove off.

“Money?”

SMACK!!!

He recoiled as he hopped on his feet, “AYIIIIIEEE!! Grandma!!”

Nines only smiled, “I’d like some water as well, please.”

Quickly, the chef made to get it, but suddenly, a flash of pink and green zipped by. Nines caught it, and he knew it was the little android girl dressed in her pink jeans and light green sweater. Her hair flew about her small, round face, and she yanked open the fridge door and had already fished out one cold water bottle. Giggling, she held it up to Nines once she felt confident enough to approach him.

The tall android smiled down at her, and she inched up on her toes. The counter was still a little too high for her, but as she proudly offered the water bottle to him, Nines slowly wrapped a large hand around it and grinned down warmly at her.

She only giggled in her reaction, but he still said, “Thank you, little one.”

Bowing her head, she then ran away, skipping and singing a little tune that lingered sweetly and mysteriously around in the air even long after she was gone.

Looking back up at the chef, Nines sighed, “How much do I owe you?”

As he shifted about and paid, he took the food in one bag, and the cat food in the other, but before he could turn away and head towards the door, he heard something akin to wrapping paper crinkling closely behind himself.

Looking over his shoulder, Nines saw ‘grandma’. She held out both hands, and in each hand, there was a fortune cookie sitting right in her palm.

Her little white teeth beamed eagerly at him, and the chef mumbled while rubbing the back of his sore head, “Don’t forget fortune cookie!!”

Though he really wasn’t interested in taking them both, he still did.

~0~0~0~0~0

Gavin had tried to rest up a bit while Nines was gone, but the android’s phone alerts woke him up constantly. In total, Nines’ phone received three alerts, and Gavin’s received two. Both his own had been from his landlord demanding payment for last month’s rent, otherwise he would be forced to evict Gavin. The weary detective knew he was behind his payments, but with a full month of no work and no remuneration, he couldn’t cough up that money anytime soon.

He still held onto the texts as a reminder to have the money in somehow by the end of next week.

The third text on Nines’ phone had been from a guy on Craigslist asking for photos of the kittens, and when Gavin sent one back, the man stopped replying. The fourth happened to be a phone call from a random, wrong number, and finally, the fifth had been a missed call just as he’d been falling asleep again from a mother stating that she’d seen his ad and wanted to take a kitten for her young son and daughter. Since it seemed quite legitimate compared to the other weird shit that he’d encountered on Craigslist, Gavin happily answered the phone and spoke with the mother.

She sounded quite pleasant, he decided, and as it so happened, she lived a few blocks away from the apartment. Already, he’d set up a time for her to come pick a kitten, and she said an hour would work for her.

Perfect.

As soon as he hung up the phone, Gavin realized he had one other problem…he was alone, and with Nines abandoning Gavin to his thoughts while off to get food and the medicine, the detective began thinking back to their ‘almost kiss’. Pacing in the living room while almost all the kittens napped comfortably, Gavin stared at the empty space on the sofa that Nines had not so long ago occupied.

Had Nines really thought about kissing him? His mind raced as his fingers thrummed restlessly against the sides of his temples. He had a headache, but that didn’t seem to deter the thoughts from flying and slamming in and out of his head.

Did their most recent experience mean that Nines was interested? Had he finally gone back on his promise to him?!?!

Heading towards the bedroom, Gavin had to consider the fact that perhaps Hank was right; perhaps he really had to start talking to Nines after all. Unfortunately, that prospect still sickened him and made him weary.

Throwing an arm over his eyes as he slumped down on his bed, Gavin sighed as his mind continued to mull over what he mentally dubbed as the whole ‘Nines Situation’. His confusion on what he should do next began exasperating him as he fought to come to some decision.

Realizing then that this was a lot more complicated than he initially thought, Gavin instead shifted the questions more on himself rather than on Nines. He knew himself; he didn’t really know Nines, still, and that was a problem in and of itself as well, but one he could always return to and tackle another time, another day.

But what about himself?

Was he even—no…he didn’t want to put labels on things. Putting a label on things wasn’t always good, at least that’s what his therapist had once told him. Calling himself ‘gay’, ‘bisexual’, or even ‘bi-curious’ was only going to damage his self-worth and self-esteem, at least for now. Rushing to labels was something teenagers and young adults did, and Gavin was far too damn old for that crap. Adults talked things through, adults tried new experiences, but adults were also able to confidently carry themselves around without the levels of confusion he faced.

Breathing deeply as he turned to lie down on his side, Gavin could have sworn he was able to still smell Nines’ scent lingering around the place. Closing his eyes, he somehow heard the rumble of the android’s voice washing over him, as piercing blue eyes stared up into his own so deeply. Rolling over to sit up, Gavin groaned in frustration, laying his head in his hands as he stared down at his feet.

What the hell was he doing? Every time he saw Nines lately, Gavin knew he couldn’t decide whether he wanted to wind his fingers in that ever-messy hair and kiss the guy, or kick himself in the ass for having those feelings. Then, whenever Nines’ presence wasn’t influencing him, his thoughts were constantly filled by the dark haired, blue-eyed android.

Why was Nines-another _man-_able to do this to him? When Gavin had first learned of his father’s last will and testament, the hard boiled detective knew he was at the mercy of his estranged co-worker if he wanted to come out of this in one piece. Back then, he’d never been so overwhelmed by fear in his life. All he wanted to do was rush over to the end of the Earth as fast as he could and fling himself off the steepest, highest ledge. The need to wrap his arms around himself as he plummeted far below into an unending, deep darkness had been far too great. There was no chance that he would be okay, but the thought that Nines at least would undoubtedly see his plight and misery, and perhaps be there to catch him at the bottom of the pit…

Gavin actually wanted and needed Nines to catch him…

Why was this ‘thing’ with Nines so confusing to him? He’d never suffered like this with the other women he’d liked! But then, thinking about it, Gavin knew he’d never felt this way about anyone else.

“That’s it, we gotta talk,” Gavin murmured to himself as he jumped off his bed, the realization of what needed to be done finally dawning unto him.

Checking his time quickly, he found that he still had a little under fifty minutes to get all the talking done.

……

Well, he _hoped_ it would be enough time…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gavin, we need to have a serious talk.  
P.S. the Japanese family = kawaiiiii


	31. Liquid Diamonds

Courage was often talked about, written about, and thoroughly studied in various forms of art, literature, bodies of law, history, and throughout the formation of the world as everyone knew it. Courage was a gift, a personal attribute, an admirable quality highly sought after. It was a motivating factor that drove people to doing great things; to achieving new heights they never thought they would ever achieve before. Courage was what made a serious change and difference in the world, as the ideas of many that had been kept and tucked away at the back of their heads and in the recesses of their mind surfaced to the top and was put into action. Courage was healthy, courage was strong, courage was good, courage was great.

And when you didn’t have courage, you were beyond fucked.

As such was the failure on his end, and Gavin Reed began cursing himself up and down when Nines arrived back to the apartment with plenty of bags hanging on his arms. The kittens were brilliant enough to sense he had food for them, and as they circled him and cried out for attention and their meal, Nines opened up the six cans of cat food and fish he’d purchased. Lining them along the bottom of the walls inside the kitchen, Nines allowed the hungry kittens to dine as he set out a large bowl of fresh water for them. Moving back to the hallway, he shook off from his trench coat a thick sheen of freshly fallen snow, patting it down onto the floor mats as he hissed in anger.

Gavin looked back at the kittens eating together, and he huffed out in surprise and mild joy, “You got them food…”

It was a declarative statement, but Nines answered anyway, “Yeah, you forgot to bring some, but it’s fine.” Putting his trench coat away finally, he slipped out of his boots, placing them on the floor mat neatly as the water drained onto it.

Staring down at the slosh-covered mat as it soaked grossly, Nines spat out, “Fuck! I need a—”

“I’ve got you,” Gavin replied, hurrying back into the kitchen and ripping one sheet of paper towel and handing it to Nines. Hanging back as he watched the android mop up majority of the melting snow off the place mat and then his boots, he eventually knew that he’d forgotten his words and his courage had flown right out the damn window.

Shit.

Standing up, Nines threw out the soaked paper towel, and he gripped his bags as he handed one to Gavin. “Your food,” he announced, setting the other down on the coffee table as he sighed out, “I also bought some cough syrup.”

“Oh,” Gavin numbly commented, “th-thanks, Nines.”

The android grunted churlishly, but tore off the protective plastic seal from the top of the cough syrup bottle. “Don’t take that until you have food in your system,” he advised as though Gavin was a child, “I’m going to have a quick shower.”

As he stood and paced towards the bathroom, Gavin cried out, “That’s actually a good idea, because someone’s comin’ by in less than half an hour to pick a kitten for her kids!”

Slowing down in his pace, Nines threw back, “Oh, right on, Reed, I’ll be even faster, then.”

And with that said, he left Gavin to his own devices.

It didn’t take the ailing detective long to finish his fresh meal, and as he downed it all in enjoyment, he reluctantly threw his head back and gulped down some of the cough syrup. It tasted like shit, and as he stared at the label on the bottle, he sighed, “Why do they _always_ make it in a cherry flavor??”

No one answered him as he wiped his lips and threw out his empty food carton while Nines finished with his shower. Changing into black, slim fit cotton pants and a grey jumper, Nines hurriedly ran a towel through his hair as he opened the bathroom door wide open and let out the steam that had gathered in the tiny room. It wafted over towards his windows, fogging up the glass while his plants slightly swayed and moved along with the heat beaten down on them from warm heaters Nines had going on for their growth and maintenance.

Sighing, Gavin chuckled out, “It’s like a damn greenhouse in here, eh Nines?”

Throwing the towel over his shoulder, Nines nodded as he disappeared inside his bedroom for a moment. “That’s the idea, Reed,” came his deep, velvety voice before he re-appeared without the towel.

As he pranced about, Gavin again tried mustering up the courage to talk to him, but failed miserably. The words just never came out. No matter how hard he thought about them, no matter how focused he was, it just wasn’t meant to be. Like a blank slate, his words and thoughts evaporated into the air, and he stared at Nines blankly while the android watered his plants. The amused android then smiled down at a kitten who was brave enough to leap up on the windowsill and gently nuzzle one of the thick plant leaves.

Nines’ smile was so contagious, and Gavin couldn’t help but smile in return while Nines explained to the kitten what kind of plant she was sniffing. He literally spoke to her like she was his own child, and Gavin had to just delight in it for a while.

It was a fleeting moment, however.

When Nines had finished spraying his plants, he turned to Gavin and asked, “So, how much are you going to ask for the kitten?”

Staring blandly at him again, Gavin let the words sink in, and then grunted dumbly, “Wha?”

Slightly on the edge of impatience, Nines explained, “The kittens, Reed; you should ask for money for them.”

That was where Gavin disagreed. Frowning slightly, he shook his head slowly and hissed, “Nah, I don’t think it’s what I ever said in the ad.”

“It’s Craigslist,” Nines snapped irritably, “you aren’t giving things away for charity.”

“So what?!”

Voice increasing in volume, Nines pressed out, “You need the money, don’t you?”

Well, he _did_, but it wasn’t Nines’ concern in any way shape or form, and even though he was late on paying his rent, Gavin _still _loathed to even think of demanding money for the kittens.

With a firm head shake, he rebuked, “I think it’s kinda wrong to ask for some money from this woman, Nines; she sounded nice.” Ignoring how the android rolled his eyes, he ground out, “Besides, these kittens mean more to me than just exchanging them for hard cash as if they’re objects, Jesus Christ…”

Glaring at him for uttering such a statement, Nines shortly snipped, “I never claimed that you don’t care about the kittens, Reed.” Moving closer to the detective, he briskly added in one go, “I was just trying to be a little helpful here when you’re clearly in need of money.”

…..

At once, they both winced, and then turned away from one another as a foreboding sense of dread passed on between them. It was at times like this when Gavin knew of the term ‘past the point of no return’, and he figured they were at it, now. They’d both said things to each other they likely shouldn’t have ever dared to say, and such delicate things were more out in the open, now. Gavin’s financial burdens, his discomfort, his psychological upheaval in regards to saying goodbye to his kittens, Nines knew about all of it, and there was no going back.

What else did he have to lose?

Still, Gavin was ever the prideful, boastful man, and he crossed his arms over his chest while sneering at Nines.

“I’m _not_ askin’ for money, and that’s final, Nines.”

Now, the android’s LED light was shown to be really red, and even beneath the black frame of bangs, Gavin saw it perfectly well.

Lips curling back, Nines snapped, “Have it your way, but don’t come crying to me if you’re in need of some money, because I’m done doing favors for you.”

As this had been uttered out so cruelly, a rather bellicose nature began brewing between the two men. What Nines had said was riveting, but not in a good way. It wasn’t a pleasant spellbinding sort of brilliance that pinned and fastened Gavin’s heart and mind on the spot to hear and yearn for more. It wasn’t anything that instilled hope, tranquility, and humility within himself, either. It was harsh, raw, visceral, and it made him feel like someone had stabbed him directly in the heart. Even that muscle in his chest seemed to slow down a little, but he recovered from the initial state of shock as his defense mechanisms kicked in.

So, Nines wanted to inadvertently let him know that he was a pain or a burden? So be it, but Gavin had other ways of getting his own back.

Acting unphased, he waved a hand in the air as he calmly and nonchalantly drawled out, “That’s fine, Nines, I won’t ever come to you for help again, don’t worry…” Staring intently at the android, then, he quipped in a bilious outburst, “I know that this was all overwhelming, especially considerin’ how empathy and compassion are waaaay above and beyond anything you could ever even hope to try and do…or feel.”

That did it. Gavin saw just how he’d struck a chord within Nines.

LED light blinking off quickly, a furious expression overtook and overpowered Nines’ normally calm demeanor. Though he did not tremble, he took his time clenching and unclenching his fists, and as his shoulders fanned out, he growled mutinously, “Fuck you, Reed.”

Whistling as his eyebrows rose, Gavin laughed out dryly, “Yeah, fuck you too, Nines.”

He’d been wrong about Nines, after all, and it hurt. He hated being wrong, and what hurt even more was that he found he hadn’t wished to be wrong about Nines. He hadn’t yearned for the fact that he’d been let down so badly, and Gavin felt himself burning from the inside out.

Before Nines could insult him further, Gavin held up both hands, and he grunted as he backed out of the living room carefully, “I’m glad to know that you’d argue about something this small and petty, Nines.” Ignoring the android’s eyes darkening, Gavin went on, “You fucked up my weekend already with this shit, and even before, you had to go and land us _both_ in the shithouse because of your crap at work, and to _that_, might I say—” he paused, raising his middle finger high in the air as he spat, “fuck you very much, Nines. Fuck you to the ends of the Earth.”

Unaware that the android had inched closer to him, Gavin kept on backing up while trying to simultaneously run away from the pain flowing in his heart. “Let’s just agree to leave each other alone until this woman arrives, Nines, okay?” Happy with his own suggestion, he affirmed, “I’ll wait in the bedroom. You can hang out here for a moment, and when she—” Feeling a hand grabbing his shoulder, Gavin’s eyes widened, and he nearly tripped over his own feet.

Things were moving too quickly, and still being slightly sick and weak, he couldn’t keep up with them.

“Wait, what are you—” was all Gavin managed to splutter out before he was abruptly silenced as Nines’ lips came crashing down roughly and possessively on his own. The kiss was awkward and one-sided as Gavin initially struggled in confusion under Nines’ weight.

Gently and carefully cradling the back of his head, Nines pushed himself on top of Gavin, and he sent them both down to the floor. Making sure Gavin wasn’t in pain, he then held onto his cheeks firmly. The mouth beneath his opened and a tentative tongue crept out. Nines met it back gingerly with a stroke of his own.

Letting out a tiny moan, Gavin was mildly surprised to find that Nines actually tasted quite pleasant. Not quite like any food or soft drink, but if Gavin had to place the taste, his best bet would be sweet candy.

Obviously gaining some confidence, Nines’ tongue extended and dipped into Gavin’s mouth, and while it was obvious that this was probably Nines’ first kiss-at least in comparison to the experiences Gavin himself had, he determined that it was not too bad.

Wanting to take control to show off his prowess, Gavin suddenly pressed himself up, and then rolled Nines over. Once he was on top, he pushed down against Nines, almost smiling when he felt a long-fingered hand barely touching his back. Arching into the touch, Gavin boldly slipped a leg between Nines’ and pressed his almost interested groin against a thin thigh. In response, Nines’ other arm came up around him, his fingers weaving into his hair, and the sensation of fingernails on his scalp sent shivers down Gavin’s spine. His cock went from barely interested to rock hard in moments.

Nines abruptly sucked in a harsh breath, and pulled away from the kiss, much to Gavin’s dismay. As the stunned detective looked deeply at Nines, he found that his eyes were wild, and almost panicked looking. They stared at each other for a moment, Gavin’s senses coming back to him long enough to feel embarrassed. He could not tell if Nines was as aroused as he was, but when he rolled off the android and lay down next to him, he saw an obvious tent straining up against the fabric of Nines’ dark pants.

Wanting to say something, Gavin licked his lower lip, and gasped out, “You—”

Of course, Nines didn’t let him speak. Once again, Nines had taken it upon himself to handle the situation. This time, Gavin was more than happy to let him.

Abruptly, Nines reached down under Gavin and grabbed the man’s ass with his other hand as well, lifting him up high into the air and shoving him against the living room wall. Cursing his short genes, Gavin felt Nines looming over him. However, he was grateful that he was still on the slim side, and he thanked the fact that Nines was larger and stronger than he was. Gavin’s breath caught from the roughness of the action and the feel of Nines’ erection against his own. The strong android held him against the wall with his hips while his hands roamed all over Gavin’s body. Ardently moaning as he enjoyed feeling thoroughly wanton and more turned on than he’d been after a long time, Gavin wrapped his arms around Nines’ neck and fully gave in.

Nines rocked against him, pleasure shooting through Gavin from the friction of all the clothes between them. The other man’s face was an inch from his, and Gavin was close to climaxing just from the intensity of Nines’ lustful gaze held for him. Gavin’s next moan was cut off by a savage kiss, and he held desperately to the larger man’s shoulders as he parted his lips to Nines’ questing tongue.

It was a hard, fast, brutal kiss; Gavin felt almost ravaged by Nines’ mouth and he loved every second of it. At least a year of pent-up need was exploding, right here, right now. Nines’ hands found their way under his shirt, touching every inch of skin they could reach. Gavin was overwhelmed and swept away, his trapped cock throbbing. When Nines finally pulled back, they were both panting. Gavin was still stunned by the other man’s passion. “Nines…” he moaned out, and in an instant, he felt the other man still rocking into him as he reclaimed his mouth, driving all reason from Gavin’s mind.

Nines pulled away and allowed Gavin to come up for air after what seemed like an eternity. He then grinned down at Gavin while snickering softly. “You taste of cough syrup.”

Gavin continued to look at him, ever so stunned. “What just happened?”

“I did something that I wanted to do for a long time,” Nines tried whispering to himself, but Gavin caught it quickly in his highly aroused state.

“But you’re…you…” Gavin muttered in disbelief, shaking his head when hair fell into his eyes.

“Yeah and?” Nines chuckled again, brushing Gavin’s bangs out of his eyes. “You know what? Shut up.” And with that, Nines kissed him more forcefully this time and let his left hand slide up and down Gavin’s body, smoothing over his slim form as he pressed his seeking tongue against Gavin’s closed lips.

Gavin could feel himself relaxing under Nines’ ministrations; the feeling of the taller male’s hand running over his heated skin, caressing at his waist before cupping tenderly at his cheek.

A wave of unfamiliar sensations flooded the amorous detective’s body as Nines continued to kiss him, his tongue working softly to part Gavin’s closed lips. Immediately moaning softly as Gavin finally surrendered and parted his lips to allow him access, Nines released Gavin’s limbs from around his neck and took a gentler turn with the smaller, shorter man in his arms.

A soft groan escaped his lips as Gavin allowed himself to drown in the feeling of Nines’ roaming tongue caressing against his own, his own hand coming up to fist his fingers into the android’s short hair at the base of his skull.

His hips lifted to meet Nines’ as he deepened the kiss, and Gavin held on for life as soon as Nines began pushing him towards the bedroom. Fingernails digging into Nines’ biceps, Gavin shut off all parts of logic ebbing away into his brain for the last time. He vowed to enjoy whatever was going to happen next properly.

…..

And suddenly, just as they’d pushed through the door, a loud knock echoed down the hall against the front door.

The knocking came louder this time, and Gavin reluctantly shoved himself out of Nines’ arms. Though the interruption hadn’t arrived at a propitious moment, Gavin realized it was better this way…much better.

Trying to make a grab for him, Nines’ fingers swung through Gavin’s hair, but the shorter male snapped out of his embrace quickly.

“Wait, stop,” Gavin said, pushing Nines aside and shuffling down the hallway as far away from Nines and the bedroom as he could.

Following him, Nines whispered, “Gavin? What’s wrong?” He even tried to reach out to him, but Gavin slapped his hands away.

“Don’t, Nines!” came the acerbic hiss just as another knock echoed at the door.

A feminine voice cried out on the other side, “Hello? Anyone home?”

Tilting his head awkwardly, Nines inquired, “What’s going on?”

“Don’t play stupid Nines,” Gavin spat as he flinched away once again from Nines’ hand trying to latch onto his clothes, “it’s the woman from Craigslist!!”

Evidently, that didn’t matter to the stricken android. “Gavin, I-”

“Shh! Nines!” Gavin hissed, deterring Nines from saying whatever it was he’d wanted to say. Racing up towards the door, he peered in through the peephole first, and once he saw two children and a middle-aged adult woman in a green tuque, he let out a tiny, relieved sigh.

Unlocking the door so he could let them in, Gavin remembered to put on his best and friendliest smile. “Heeey guys!” he greeted kindly and politely, “are you all here for the kitten?”

~0~0~0~0~0

They sure took their sweet time. The children ended up being a lot pickier than Gavin initially suspected. After he’d handed them some candy he brought along with himself, and offered the mother a cup of hot coffee, they practically made themselves right at home. The boy was especially noisy, energetic, and loud. He chased the kittens around, which made them all hide away throughout Nines’ apartment. Gavin and Nines had to hunt them all down and fetch them so the children could select one they really wanted.

Completely turned off by the runt of the litter, the boy and the girl eventually selected a lean, slim healthy female, and after a few words of small talk about the cold weather, the economy, and upcoming Christmas plans, the mother collected her family, and they were off again.

Once Gavin and Nines were left all alone once more, Gavin looked down at the remaining five kittens. They didn’t seem too depressed that their sibling was now gone, but they cuddled closely together, perhaps due to being frightened by the small boy and then chased all around the apartment by an equally frustrated Nines and Gavin. Now that there was peace and silence in the apartment, they wandered off, had some meals, and then were happy to relieve themselves in the same cardboard box Gavin brought along with himself. Afterwards, when he’d thrown it out before it could stink up Nines’ apartment, Gavin saw that it was almost half-past eight already.

Odd how time had somewhat slowed down…

As he moved about preparing for the night, he noticed that while Nines was silent, he was observing every move he made. It didn’t bother Gavin…at first. He resumed his regular ‘evening duties’ on a Sunday, which consisted of him checking his phone, playing some games on it, having a beer, and then staring back up at Nines when he couldn’t take that smoldering look on his form any longer.

Yes, he realized there was still a lot they had to discuss and go over, and now that they’d kissed and touched, it made matters far more complicated. Gavin wasn’t a fool. He knew that by the way Nines was staring so intently at him, he was smitten in some way with him. It was flattering, of course, but there was only one problem.

Gavin wasn’t gay.

He wasn’t bisexual, he wasn’t even curious about it, and there was no way on God’s green Earth that was ever going to change. Yes, he appreciated Nines’ masculinity and beauty in its own attractive, handsome right. Yes, he thought the android was rather good looking, especially now that he changed up his style and acted more like himself with his own unique personality rather than a ‘copy and paste’ version of any android freshly out of CyberLife’s doors. He liked that they could chat often, he liked that Nines was a pretty good soundboard, a confidant, and a friend in some sense. He enjoyed Nines’ odd, quirky sense of humor, and he held some amount of respect for the fact that Nines had his back and would help him if he needed it. But that certainly didn’t mean Gavin was attracted to him on a sexual level, and that didn’t mean he wanted him.

No. Gavin Reed wanted _women._ Ladies got him erect, ladies satisfied him, and lovely women with big breasts and curvy hips usually were his top priority when it came to bedroom antics. As much as he could be open minded and appreciate a healthy male figure and frame, he couldn’t actually imagine fucking a man or being fucked by another man. Why, just the thought of a man pinning him down and dominating him was enough to send shivers running up and down Gavin’s spine, and he banned that thought right out of his mind in an instant.

Meanwhile, Nines was still gaping at him like he’d hung the stars, and Gavin hated it.

Sticking out a finger, he pointed it in an accusatory manner directly at the android. “Don’t,” he warned as he puffed out his chest arrogantly, “don’t look at me like that, Nines.”

“Like what?”

He’d naturally expected a stupid question like that, but he calmed down in spite of his first impulsive reaction to go ballistic.

Feeling his heart racing for some weird reason he couldn’t place, Gavin answered snidely, “Find someone else to mess around with, Nines.”

The android’s jaw dropped, and he gasped, “Wait, I thought—”

“And I thought we weren’t going to do this kind of weird shit?” Gavin barked, “I mean, didn’t we _both_ agree on that not even a few days ago, Nines?”

Nodding slowly while a petrified look grew on his face, the RK900 seemed upset, but he quickly recovered as he bit forth, “I don’t understand.”

Why was he being so dense?!

Waving his hands, Gavin ecstatically cried out, “What’s not to understand, Nines?” Pointing at himself, then, he slowly spoke out, “I. Am. Not. Interested. In,” he then pointed directly at Nines once more, “_YOU_.”

“I find that ridiculous, Reed,” Nines snorted, “you were into it just as much as I was.”

Cheeks aflame, now, Gavin resisted the urge to deck Nines hard as he could in the mouth. Instead, he mentally counted to ‘three’ and took a deep breath before he spoke up again.

“Listen, Nines,” pointing at his cough syrup bottle still on the coffee table, he then said, “I’m still kinda sick. What happened was just a one-time thing, and I swear, I was too messed up to even understand it.”

Eyes narrowing and squinting at him, then, Nines hissed, “I hope you’re not suggesting that I go around trying to seduce unwell and drugged-up people, because if you are, then—”

“No, Nines!” Gavin roared mightily, “are you insane? Jesus Christ!!!”

“Then how would you explain it?”

Truthfully, Nines’ question was the very same one Gavin had been wondering about all night. How could he really explain his new, bizarre curiosity and fascination around his male, android co-worker, who was supposedly acting as his fiancé?

Hooking onto that as an excuse, Gavin supplied, “I think this whole wedding thing is getting to me, maybe.”

Looking as though he didn’t believe it, Nines snapped, “It sounds weak to you; you know it.”

Again, he’d said too much, and Gavin did what he always did best; prevaricate.

Clapping his hands together, he sighed out, “Okay, I’m gonna get ready for bed, Nines, and in the morning, hopefully more kittens will be gone, and then we’ll see Hank about his own kitten too, okay?”

Nines could’ve been seen reaching deeply into his pockets, but he didn’t say a word. Gavin clearly took that as a sign of agreement and confirmation, and he nodded as he backed away and padded off into the bathroom.

Somewhere tonight, Gavin knew a heart had been broken, but he wasn’t entirely sure if it was Nines who suffered the most.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 😒😒😒 ..... Gavin.


	32. Between the Lines

_“Hey dad!! Wanna see the drawing I did at school today?” Gavin shyly peeked into his father’s half-open study. As a rule, his mother had strictly warned him that he was not to go in here whenever his father was home, as that often meant his father was working or studying. But the seven-year-old had been way too excited after not really having seen much of his father all throughout the week. Now was his chance, and he stood in the doorway, his toes curling and unfurling over the thick cream-colored carpet. It felt so smooth, warm, and fluffy between his toes, and he let out a tiny giggle just from feeling it on his skin._

_Gavin saw his father grinning over at him from behind his desk. A laptop was resting on the surface as usual, but the moment his father heard his little voice, he closed the lid of the machine, and he rolled his chair out away from his desk. _

_Patting his legs, he called out, “Come here, Gavin.” _

_Gavin ran, and in one leap, he was already crawling on top of his father’s lap. The older Reed helped Gavin settle on his lap, and he ruffled his son’s light brown hair as the youngster held his drawing in both tiny hands and waved it in the air like a flag. He was so proud of his work, and he knew his dad would be as well._

_“Is that our house?” his father asked as he pointed at a large brown and grey building Gavin had drawn quite neatly._

_“Yeah!” pointing around, he showed his father through the open window a smiling face peeking out at them. “This is you working in your office!!”_

_Smirking, his father then pointed at a lower level window, where a feminine face smiled through a wide-open window. “And this is mom, right?”_

_“Yeah!”_

_“Always cooking away for us, huh?”_

_Gavin’s nose told him this in fact was the case. He could smell his mother’s talented cooking all the way from downstairs, and it made his mouth water, his hands sweaty in anticipation, and his stomach grumbled again._

_His father heard it, and he laughed as he gently tickled Gavin’s sides. “Someone’s hungry!” he commented as he tickled his son playfully, and Gavin laughed brightly as he hopped off his father’s lap and ran around his chair a few times, then the desk._

_“Come on, dad!! Take a break from work like I do at school!!”_

_His father clasped his hands together as he unplugged two phones that had been charging on the edge of his desk. Tying up the chords neatly and placing them inside his top desk drawer and closing it, he chortled, “Gavin, adults don’t get play time and recess like kids do.”_

_Pausing as he was now out of breath, the young Gavin cried out, “They don’t??”_

_“Sorry kiddo, that’s not how it works for us big guys.”_

_He was a little mad, but he ran back to his father as he pressed himself against his legs and knees. “Your recess is now with me and mom!!!”_

_A deep laugh rang out, and he smiled upon hearing his father laughing so happily. It warmed him up hearing it, and he realized he hadn’t heard it for a long time. He loved making his father happy; it was a poignant aspect of his young life._

_Sitting back, the older Reed stretched his arms out, and once he’d gazed down at Gavin in adoration, he sighed out, “Old curmudgeons like myself don’t really have recesses, Gavin.” _

_Frowning upon hearing such an adult-sounding word, Gavin tried repeating it with major difficulty. “Cur…cur…curmmy…pigeon?”_

_His father threw his head back and laughed even louder than last time, and Gavin laughed along as well once he knew he wasn’t being mocked. _

_Wiping the tiny tears from the corners of his eyes, his father calmed down significantly as he shook his head and corrected his son. “Curmudgeon, Gavin. Sound it out with me!”_

_He loved learning and being taught by his father, so he paid close attention._

_“Cur,” his father sounded out, and Gavin repeated it immediately, eyes on his father’s mouth so he could capture the words properly and completely. “Muj,” his father stated, “sound out the ‘j’!”_

_“Muj,” Gavin repeated slowly, smiling as he knew he got it right. _

_“Good!” his father encouraged, “now, say: jun!”_

_Giggling, Gavin hurriedly said, “Jun!”_

_“Now, we say it all together. Think you can do it?”_

_Nodding eagerly, he cried out with zeal, “Yeah!!!”_

_“Let’s do it!”_

_They counted together as they held up their fingers one at a time._

_One._

_Two._

_Three._

_“Curmudgeon!!”_

_“Curmyjun!” _

_……_

_As predicted of his young, playful age and nature, Gavin couldn’t pronounce the word accurately, and he stumbled upon the word as he broke out in a fit of giggles along with his father. They laughed and laughed and laughed until Gavin’s mother called out to them that dinner was ready. _

_These were some of the best moments of his young life that Gavin could remember; making his father laugh, and his father making him laugh._

_It’d always been so innocent, once…_

_But somewhere along the line, it all came to an end, and why? He really couldn’t remember…_

_All he could hear in his thoughts and dreams was music, but that music was often accompanied by tears and the distinct sounds of sobbing and wailing…_

Shaking himself awake almost violently, Gavin reared up on the bed he’d been lying on. He wasn’t sure why, but it nearly felt like someone or something was smothering him on his chest…peeking down, he saw that two kittens were curled up and sitting on his sternum.

Of course.

The not-so pernicious, curious felines purred at him once they saw he was wide awake, and one of them nuzzled Gavin by rubbing its little skull beneath his chin. It brought a small smile to his face, and Gavin rubbed its head and ears as he let out a tiny sigh.

“Today, we’re gonna see if we can give one of you a new home!” Gavin yawned out as he gently held both kittens to his chest as he slowly got out of the bed. He was well aware that he was still in Nines’ apartment, but thankfully, Nines wasn’t in the bedroom at all. Glad that Nines respected his wishes, Gavin slowly prepared for the day.

After showering and shaving as best as he could with his tiny mirror, Gavin headed out into the kitchen, and he found Nines watering his plants that were lining up the windowsills. The morning light was fresh, bright, and rather colorful with mixtures of orange, white, yellow, and soft reddish hues beaming along the horizon and past the clouds. Altogether, it wasn’t looking too shabby outside, as the snow had ceased falling, and the wind wasn’t blowing as harshly as it had been yesterday.

“How did you sleep?”

Nearly missing Nines’ soft-yet deep-voice asking the polite question, Gavin felt his heart leaping in his chest. Already, upon hearing the android’s deep, masculine voice, his feelings and reactions began to obfuscate his concerns.

What the hell?? Why was he reacting like that for?? Nines hadn’t really shocked or scared him, but his heart was thrumming in his chest as though he had!!

Why?

As Nines stared intently at one of his plants, stroking the leaves gently and carefully, Gavin cleared his throat as he nodded. “Good,” he answered briskly, “I slept well.”

Nines hummed, “Hmm, did the cough syrup help?”

“Do you hear me coughing?”

…..

“No, I do not.”

Gavin shrugged, “There you have it, then.”

Awkward silence permeated throughout the apartment, then, but Gavin went about with feeding the remaining five kittens as he pet each and every one of them while thinking about which one Hank could like. He honestly couldn’t settle on answering that, so he pulled out his phone from his jean pocket and redialed Hank’s personal number as he had well before Halloween.

He had a feeling Hank was off for today, as anyone who worked the mail room had quite the erratic work schedule, no doubt.

Not incorrect in his assumptions, Gavin wasn’t surprised when Hank picked up on the third ring.

“Gavin?”

Now, Gavin was shocked and surprised when Hank just knew he’d called. That had either meant that Hank added him as a contact on his phone, or otherwise had some form of caller I.D.

Clearing his throat, he gently greeted, “Mornin’ Hank…how did you know it was me?”

Not even hesitating much, Hank replied, “I have you as a contact on my phone, Gavin,” lowering his voice so he sounded gentle, yet reserved, he asked, “that’s okay with you, right?”

“I’m not anxious or fearful about it, Hank,” Gavin chuckled, “don’t worry. I guess this makes it all easier for chatting.”

“Exactly,” Hank laughed now that he was in the ‘clear’ and seemingly understood.

Waiting for Nines to move back into the bedroom, Gavin took his time as he spoke out, “You’re off today, right Hank?”

“Sure am!” Hank chirped, “and thank God for that! It’s cold as Satan’s balls outside, and it’s the kind of day where you wanna curl up in bed with a good movie or book.”

That sounded like a pretty decent suggestion-minus picturing what Satan’s balls looked like, but Gavin didn’t find any interest in any movies that came out recently, and he wasn’t an avid reader for the most part. Not really wanting to comment on that when he heard Nines shuffling about with the bedroom door still mostly wide-open, he sighed out as he grunted, “I gave one of the kittens away last night.”

Hank gasped, “Oh! Right!! Forgot about that for a moment!” Chuckling, he then asked, “How’s that goin’?”

“Meh,” Gavin avoided going into details regarding the fact that he was _still_ emotionally upset with the notion that he had five more kittens to say goodbye to. At the risk of not sounding like a sap, he glossed and skated as far away from what made him emotionally uncomfortable right around the same time Nines emerged from his bedroom dressed in a black, thick sweater, and black skinny jeans that weren’t torn or ripped, but had buckles and bindings wrapped around the thighs separated from each other every other few inches or so as they ran up and down along the length of the leggings. Around his neck, he wore a silver necklace with a dark skull emblem hanging from the center just above the middle of his chest. On a few fingers, he even had some silver and black patterned and styled rings gleaming and shining brightly in the sunlight pouring into the apartment from the windows.

“Gavin?” Hank’s voice roused him again, “you alright?”

…..

Blinking away from Nines, he sighed, “Yeah, I’m fine, Hank.”

“So, what’re you plannin’ on doin’ now that you’re on suspension?”

Jesus…had news _really_ spread that quickly like wildfire in the DPD?! What was this? A high school?!

Pushing aside his anger since he didn’t want to lash out at Hank when he hadn’t done anything to deserve it, Gavin quickly stated, “Well, gotta find homes for the kittens because they’re gettin’ to be too much for me to handle.”

He could almost hear Hank nodding. “Right,” the older male softly spoke, “I think it goes without saying, but you want to know if you can come over and let me pick one, right?”

Grinning a toothy grin, Gavin chuckled out, “You didn’t become a good Lieutenant for no reason, huh?"

“Don’t doubt it!”

Staring at the time on his phone as he pulled it away from his cheek for a brief moment, Gavin suggested lightly, “Should I drop by in an hour, maybe?”

“An hour’s good,” Hank backed up as he then hissed down at Sumo, “I’ll text ya my address.”

Smiling, Gavin said, “Thanks, Hank.”

Before he could hang up, however, Hank quickly got out one final thought, but it was a thought that Gavin knew was more of a wish, and a desire.

“Gavin? Bring Nines along with you, if you can; I want to talk to him.” After that, Hank disconnected the call.

It left him with an option, of course, and as Gavin turned to peek over his shoulder, he caught sight of Nines sitting with one long leg crossed over the other, hands folded in his lap, and posture straight and poised on a shiny black chair near the kitchen table.

There was a tiny gleam in the android’s eyes Gavin was unable to place or decipher, and since the unknown made him rather uncomfortable, Gavin was only able to focus on one thing, and one thing alone…

Nines was staring right at him and watching him quite intently, and a small smile eventually broke out from the corners of his lips until it enveloped his entire face.

~0~0~0~0~0

Every cloud has a silver lining, they say. Some are harder to find than others, though. But where did one start looking for that silver lining? _HOW_ could one even start if they had no inkling where to begin, what resources they required, and who else to turn to and rely on?? How could you see much of anything in the middle of dark, grey stormy skies??

As such, this seemed to be the toughest dilemma Gavin was facing, but he still hung on the tiny thread of hope that there were plenty of hours still in the day that could potentially help it turn into a ‘better’ one…at least he truly wished so.

Holding onto a new cardboard box Nines found in the laundry room of the apartment, Gavin peered down at the five remaining kittens within it stirring playfully and restlessly. At least they were now slightly more accustomed to being given rides, and they poked their heads out of the top of the box and tried to look out the window.

Nines drove the car, and as he sat back dressed in a blue-black fancy motorcycle lacy arms faux leather jacket and the same jeans with the buckles, Gavin stared at his clothes and then at the black sunglasses he’d also donned on his face, now. In Gavin’s opinion, Nines looked absolutely amazing. A younger and more daring version of the silent detective would’ve even referred to and described Nines’ appearance as ‘hot’, if he really had been bold enough. Once again in such a short span of time, Gavin felt confusion and states of disbelief stirring within himself as he studied Nines for quite some time.

Not even peeking over at him, Nines grumbled as he stroked his smooth, hairless chin with his right hand while holding onto the steering wheel with the left, “You’re staring, Reed.”

So he was.

Blushing as he quickly turned away and peeked out his side of the window which was all fogged up due to the heater being turned on and paired with his own labored breaths and the kittens’, Gavin haphazardly assented, “Well, it’s because your new look fits you rather nicely…so what?”

Staring straight ahead at the road, Nines replied, “I’ll take that compliment, then.”

“Okay, Nines.”

“Okay, Reed.”

What was with the attitude, lately?!?! Was Nines _seriously _that butthurt over a stupid rejection?! If that was the case, then oh boy! He was in for a real treat!!! Rejection was the story of Gavin’s life, for the most part. Due to his social anxiety and avoidant personality disorder, according to his therapist, anyway, his social circles were diminishing, and it was sometimes more difficult for himself to find as many people who accepted him. Of course, that didn’t always mean romantically, but Nines was pretty damn good-looking in comparison to most men Gavin knew!! If _those_ guys-given how stupid, immature, fat, drunk, and lazy they were could land dates and get laid, then seeing as how in-shape, handsome, attractive, and socially appealing Nines could be at times, he should’ve had _zero_ problems and issues with landing a date.

However, Gavin knew that this wasn’t really his business either way. For the most part, whatever the hell had happened between himself and Nines only stemmed from and was rooted in confusion and from the circumstances forcing them to be ‘tied’ together and communicate more with each other than they regularly did.

Yes!!! That seemed pretty logical, at least for Gavin.

Wanting to share this with Nines in the hopes that he would not only convince the android of it and ameliorate the bad situation, but Gavin also partially hoped to convince himself that there wasn’t anything wrong with what had happened, and with his rejecting Nines.

Smiling-albeit weakly-he lightly brought up, “Nines, I know I was kind of a jerk this mornin’ and last night, but you gotta trust me when I say that it’s legit nothin’ personal in regards to us not bein’ together…” Pausing, he stared intently at the android as he added, “…I mean, you know that, right?”

Gently shifting the wheel when a speedy, impatient driver switched lanes before them, Nines’ head tilted to the right, and his bangs fell over the handle of his sunglasses slightly. Still, he hadn’t uttered a word, and that troubled Gavin.

Frowning, the detective supplied indignantly, “I mean, I’m not sayin’ I don’t like bein’ around you and I’m not claiming that I don’t like the idea of us bein’ friends,” he expounded, “I just mean that because you’re kinda playing my partner here, certain things kinda happened on their own anyway, but it’s like a byproduct of the situation, y’know?”

Staring deeply at Nines as he leaned to the left, he almost whispered shyly, “I think anyone in the same situation-regardless of partner-would behave the same way, so that’s it, Nines. Don’t worry about labels or anything like that; it just happened because of the situation bein’ weird, but it likely could’ve happened to anyone else goin’ through this shit, too.” Sitting back once he was done with his verbal tirade and rant, Gavin felt much, much better already.

However, Nines remained purely silent, and as the silence stretched on, Gavin’s happiness died down exponentially.

Lifting an inquisitive, impatient eyebrow, he nearly croaked out the android’s name, when Nines slowly pulled up into Hank’s street.

“Now, let me get this straight, Reed,” came Nines’ deep, velvety tone finally, “you’re meaning to tell me that this bizarre occasion weighed heavier on your actions than any personal choice or bias, correct?”

Gavin nodded, “Err, yeah, that’s a way to summarize it, I guess…”

Not even pausing, Nines went on as he pulled up beside a curb, “And with that in mind, you’re meaning to say that you didn’t really have full control over your own choices as you normally would if you were given a wider range of freedom, yes?”

……

“Sure…?” He hated the insecurity in his own voice.

Nodding, Nines parked the car, but before he turned off the engine, he turned to face Gavin completely, and he most definitely _was_ making eye contact with the other male. Upon seeing it so raw and real, Gavin felt his mouth and throat turning as dry as a desert, practically, and he was unable to blink for almost a minute as Nines stared at him in pure silence.

Finally, when one kitten hissed, Nines’ lips twitched, and he stated with a blank, neutral expression, “So with circumstances being what they are, Reed,” the seats groaned and rustled as he leaned closer to Gavin, “does that mean that if for example…let’s just say ‘Connor’…” Pausing, Nines grinned almost maliciously when he saw Gavin turning pale before continuing on, “…What if Connor had to be your ‘partner’ in this scenario, Reed?” Leaning in closer and closer towards the detective, Nines’ eyes-which were still heavily shielded by the dark sunglasses-shined playfully as the titillating sensations enveloped both men in the car, though Gavin was unable to really see it.

Licking his lips quickly, Nines purred, “Would you _really_ also be eager to stick your tongue down Connor’s throat, only to then blame it all on the pressure of the situation, Gavin?”

As Gavin’s eyes widened while he emitted a strained gasp of sheer shock due to Nines’ word selection, the android cleverly swooped down before the startled male. However, before he could hungrily place his mouth over Gavin’s, the other male unlocked his car door, and he tugged himself and the box of kittens out of the car in one deft move.

“Hank’s expectin’ us, Nines! Come on!” He coughed out uncomfortably, and he wasn’t able to see the way Nines gently lowered his sunglasses so his blue eyes piercingly gazed at Gavin while he smirked with great amounts of confidence.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nines won't take 'no' for an answer. I'd just consider that, Gavin.


	33. Subconscious Memories, Longing Realities

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hank gets a kitten!!  
The closest thing I could find in terms of what Nines is wearing.  
: https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/3~AAAOSwCGVX6jrR/s-l300.jpg

Gavin thought he’d never live to see the day where he found Hank god damn Anderson dressed in a night robe. But it seemed that such a day was now; the time and place were set. Hank answered his door literally dressed in a dark blue night robe that hung down to his ankles. His feet were bare, however, but he looked beyond exhausted regardless. It seemed like he hadn’t slept in weeks; dark circles and bags hung under his eyes, his hair was messy and stood out like he’d been electrocuted, and his beard was wild, unkempt, and twisted as certain bits of the hairs stood out at odd angles. If Gavin hadn’t known any better, he would’ve wagered that Hank had literally just rolled out of bed upon hearing the doorbell ring.

Gavin blinked rapidly a few times before rasping, “Umm, Hank? Is it really a good time??”

Soft pattering echoed from behind the exhausted older male, and soon, loud sniffing sounds were heard before a dark, wet muzzle and nose pushed its way past Hank’s legs and in front of the open doorway. With a deep huff, Sumo greeted them in his own way, tail slowly wagging from side to side as he looked at Nines first, and then at Gavin.

Shivering, Hank mumbled, “Of course it’s a good time! Now get in here; you’re lettin’ all my heat out, you bastards!!”

Chuckling once he realized Hank was in good spirits, Gavin moved inside the house first, and Nines lingered behind him as he slowly took off his sunglasses.

Eyeing his new style, Hank grunted as he lazily winked at Nines, “I like your new sense of fashion, Nines.”

As Gavin held the box to his chest, Sumo whined and tried pawing at him gently before leaping up on his hind legs. Hank clapped angrily as he roared, “SUMO! DOWN!!”

A few of the kittens seemed beyond frightened, and they immediately hissed, mewled loudly in their protests, and huddled together in one corner of the box. Standing awkwardly about while Hank grabbed Sumo’s collar and tugged him back enough, Gavin stared at the kitchen table. It of course wasn’t nearly as messy as his own, though it held a small plate with plenty of crumbs, and next to it was a beer bottle.

“Err, can I?” Gavin inquired, motioning with the box over at the table.

Hank snickered, “Need ya ask?”

“Right…” Wandering over to the table, Gavin set the box down in the center, making sure it was well balanced before he stepped away from it and held out his hands. “Here they are, Hank! Come take a look for yourself.”

Gently pulling Sumo along with himself while Nines hung back in the dark shadows of the living room, Hank muttered, “I think Sumo should have a look at ‘em, too, because he’s an even pickier old bastard than I am!”

Smiling warmly, Gavin assented, “Yeah, I mean, take your time, if you want.”

Hank definitely did that as he himself first peeked down into the box. Upon realizing they were looking at another human as opposed to a monster that was larger and furrier than they were, the kittens stretched their heads and necks up, but weren’t any less frightened. Hank gently reached in the box with a hand, but the kittens all shied away and dashed towards the other end of the box.

Hank gasped, “Ah shit, they don’t like me…”

“Maybe it’s because you have Sumo’s scent on you,” Nines suggested, and then Hank turned and stared at him again.

Slowly, the old Lieutenant smiled as he said, “You see, I didn’t think Gavin was gonna bring you along with himself when I first asked him to do it, but you know what?” he then turned to Gavin, “I’m glad you did, Gavin.”

While Gavin had no comment or opinion ready for that statement, he stood back and observed as Hank picked up one apprehensive kitten and held him up in front of Sumo.

“What’d’ya think?” Hank asked his canine friend. Sumo huffed, clearly indifferent, and the kitten hissed and wailed in anger as it tried scratching Hank’s hand.

“Okay, okay, okay!! Gosh!!” Grumpily, Hank set the kitten down in the box, then, and he went through the same motions where he would pick on up and present it to Sumo. After doing this three times, Hank wasn’t yielding any good results, and he sighed as he grunted, “Fuck it, let’s have the ‘Master’ himself pick.”

Gavin nodded, “Shall we?”

Together, they guided the box down to the kitchen floor, and the moment they did, the kittens hissed, scratched at the sides of the box wildly, and tried getting as far away from Sumo as possible.

Sighing in frustration, Hank muttered, “This may not work, Reed…they’re too young and obviously too scared to—”

“No,” Nines interrupted, raising a finger and pointing at the box, “wait…”

Staring down simultaneously at where he was pointing, Gavin and Hank saw that while the other four kittens were struggling and fighting to keep away from Sumo’s massive size in comparison to their own, only one tiny kitten was brave enough to venture out of the box. The one kitten bold enough to crawl out and approach Sumo curiously happened to be the ‘runt of the litter’, ironically.

As everyone watched intently and silently, the frail male kitten wandered off towards Sumo. The large dog panted heavily, and a second later, his thick, bushy tail wagged excitedly. Bending down, his large, wet tongue hung out, and he started licking the tiny orange-white kitten’s body. Rather than run away, the little feline purred and arched his back up into the air, nuzzling and kneading Sumo’s giant paws before curling down on top of them and losing himself to a fit of purrs.

Hank slowed looked up to meet Gavin’s eyes, and it didn’t even take a few seconds before he smiled softly. “That’s the one,” he commented in assurance, “I think this guy will get along well with Sumo!”

Even Nines seemed highly amused, and he was grinning proudly as he crossed his arms over his chest and uttered, “Figures that the least likely one would end up being the bravest one…eh Gavin?”

Immediately upon hearing the detective’s first name mumbled out, both Hank and Gavin snapped up in awe. Hank was the first to repeat, “Gavin?? Well…” he chuckled as he scratched his long hair, “that’s a first I guess…you two gettin’ along, now?”

Shaking his head, Gavin went to answer, but a long arm draped itself around his shoulder. Instantly, his body brushed up against Nines’, and as he glanced up, he noticed Nines was awfully close…too close, in fact.

Sunglasses resting atop his head nestled between thick bunches of his black hair, Nines smirked as he leaned against Gavin, his arm almost hanging protectively around his shoulder. “I’d say we’re getting along pretty well, Hank…” Staring down at Gavin next to himself, he could only smile wider.

“Things couldn’t be better, really.”

Hank nodded cheerfully as he turned around and walked towards his coffee machine while Sumo insisted on grooming his new friend. “That’s excellent to hear, Nines,” the older man commented as he then began whistling while he prepared his morning coffee.

Nines never stopped staring deeply into Gavin’s eyes. It truly appeared as though Nines’ thoughts began a torrid affair with Gavin, consisting primarily of the ghostly feeling of their prior stolen kisses and hasty hand jobs. Right now, Nines’ fingers skating sensually up and down Gavin’s length of bone and shoulder seemed to whisper all sorts of illicit promises while his hands worked their own brand of magic.

“Yeah…excellent.”

~0~0~0~0~0

By the middle of the week, all the kittens were given away to new homes, much to Gavin’s dismay, and relief. He was happy he didn’t have a huge family to look after, now, but he missed his kittens like crazy. As he was alone in his apartment, he scrolled through the photos of them he’d taken on his phone, reliving each memory he could. Very soon, he realized he was sulking, and it was almost 4 in the afternoon.

He’d been lazing about in bed since before noon, and he hadn’t done a single productive thing all damn day long.

Well…just because was still suspended, didn’t mean that he was going to sit and do nothing!!

Gathering his gym clothes, Gavin went across the street to the gym he frequented, and he worked out for nearly an hour when his phone rang incessantly.

His anger and frustration went up another notch as he shook his head, eager to try and ignore it at first, but when the calls started up again, he finally got away from the treadmill he was running on.

Shutting off his music and yanking out an earpiece, he set himself down on a small wooden bench by the wall as he made to answer the call.

Freezing for a moment, he glared when he saw it was from **Fuck Stick Plastic Prick.**

Lovely.

He had to wonder why Nines was calling, though; Nines never called him. Yes, he’d reached out by text once or twice, but he hardly initiated chatting, and only seemed to do it when he wanted something, or needed to insult and or bitch at him. Perhaps this was the case, and Gavin braced himself as he brought the phone up to his ear while he closed his eyes and got ready to listen.

“What do you want, Nines?” It was pretty damn rude to answer a call that way, but Gavin had only just recently gotten over a bilious fever, his own weird confusion surrounding Nines, and he was still trying to work on getting used to coming home to a purely empty and quiet apartment now that the kittens were gone.

Nines took a moment before his deep voice chuckled, “Bad time?”

“Your timing always sucks, Nines,” Gavin snapped out irritably, glaring away at a nosy group of teenagers who were working out nearby on a bench press. They’d taken up a sudden, random interest in Gavin’s conversation, and the grumpy detective reminded himself to talk softer.

Heading back to his initial question, he reiterated, “What do you want?”

Nines sighed softly, “To take you out for a bit, Gavin. I sense you’re as bored as I am.”

“Okay, first of all,” Gavin growled under his breath as he glared away at his sweaty legs, “stop callin’ me ‘Gavin’, it’s so weird!” Clearing his throat, he realized how parched it was, but he had to get out the last bits of his exclamations. “Secondly, why do you think I could be as bored as you? Huh? You’re the one who has no social life, you dweeb!”

Hoping that he’d somehow hurt the android’s feelings, Gavin grinned in triumph, but that grin was quickly erased when Nines laughed heartily at him.

“Are you—” he froze, shaking his head as he spat, “I know you’re not laughing at me, but what the hell is so funny?!”

Still chuckling, Nines took his time to calm down as he finally replied, “Nothing, Gavin. Sorry for offending you, but I assumed that—”

“Nah, you assumed shit,” Gavin interrupted as he wiped away some heated sweat that had gathered on his forehead, “just ‘Reed’ is good.”

“Okay, _Just_ Reed.”

Gavin nearly blew a fuse. “Nines!!”

“Sorry, Reed.” The mischievous RK900 didn’t even try to mask his chuckle that time. “So, you’ll join me?”

“Yeah…how about a ‘no’, there.” Gavin firmly concluded, “My answer is ‘no’. I don’t wanna hang out with you.”

Coolly, Nines drawled, “Ah, come on, Reed; it’s almost December, and there’s a lot of interesting things going on around town. Why not join me for a while?”

Irritated, now, Gavin held his phone tightly while on the verge of explosion. “I _don’t_ need your pity, you freak!”

“I’m not pitying you,” came the honest reply, “just keep me company for a bit.”

Suddenly, Gavin’s mother’s words of ‘wisdom’ rang out into his ears from the back of his head. She’d often warned him: ‘don’t bite the hand that feeds you’, and he couldn’t help but think of it now in this case. Of course, it applied substantially. Nines was helping him work towards his inheritance. What good would it do him to be snarky, snide, rude, and bite off the hand that was ‘feeding’ him?

Not too bright.

Trying to reject Nines gently, now, Gavin sighed, “Look, Nines, what did I just say?”

Tongue clicking, the android stated with caution, “You said ‘no’. I didn’t think—”

Interrupting rudely, Gavin hissed, “No, of course you didn’t think. You never think.” Exasperation rolled off his shoulders in nearly visible waves when he noticed the teenage males walking around the bench press and cussing one another out while also throwing him dirty looks.

Nines droned on in mild agony and anguish, “I came to you to offer you some company, same way you needed my help, and yet you insulted me.”

Raising a brow, Gavin snorted, “Are you gonna cry about it, Nines?”

…..

A deep chuckle was heard on the other end of the line. “No,” Nines purred pleasantly, “not unless you come out with me for a bit…”

That voice…damn it, and all its enticing features!

Groaning, Gavin stretched his legs out before standing up and wiping his brow once more. “Are you gonna leave me alone and stop buggin’ me if I say ‘yes?’”

He could almost hear Nines smiling, for God’s sake.

“That’s the idea, detective.”

Shockingly, though he fought it down as hard as he could, Gavin was unable to stop himself from smiling in return.

~0~0~0~0~0

Tower Center Mall of Michigan, Detroit was one of the busiest shopping malls, especially around December. A lot of families were already flocking to the little outlets, trying very desperately to get their hands on early Christmas gifts, sales, deals, and specials, naturally. Plenty of Santa Claus events and games for children were starting to get set up, and the entire place was more like a menagerie of wild zoo animals than anything else as people ran around, screamed, laughed, cried, bought things, returned them, and rushed their kids about from store to store.

At the East end of the mall, at least ten rows of plastic tables had been set out for children to paint, color, and to also have their own faces painted by ‘Santa’s little Elves’. Each little elf wandered from table to table, handing out sparkles, crayons, pencil crayons, glitter, glue, fake eyelashes, makeup kits, as well as anything else for the children. They were all smiling, laughing, and portraying sincere and utmost joy, and it all seemed to flock throughout the mall. At every corner of the damn place was something advertising for Christmas, New Year’s, and Boxing Day.

It made Gavin sick, truly, and he wondered just why the hell Nines had dragged him out here to begin with. Well, he supposed they weren’t here to buy anything, but perhaps they were in the mall for…for what?? Gavin didn’t get it.

However, it didn’t feel too bad walking next to Nines, as comely as he was. Wearing his pure black All Star Converse on his feet, Nines looked mighty fine in dark dress pants that showed off his long legs, and some punk-styled, rave steampunk and gothic military black army jacket on his upper torso. It sat just below his hips, and even though he was dressed and covered properly, Gavin was still imagining and wondering just what kind of a physique Nines was hiding beneath his clothes…

He tried not thinking and pondering about it for too long, however; they were still in public, for one, and the mall soon grew even more crowded as they tried sticking together while moving past the food court.

All kinds of lovely-smelling meals were half price, apparently, and a lot of youngsters and teenagers scrambled for hot dogs, cookies, fries, burgers, pizza, and everything that was no doubt high in calorie and carbs, but so fucking good on the tongue.

Christmas music constantly played above on the speakers, echoing all throughout the mall, and it couldn’t be heard much when babies and toddlers screamed from the top of their little lungs. The walls and ceilings of the mall had been painted nicely with candles held by little angels and woodland animals floating above them, and over the length of the ceiling showed the star-filled sky above, half from the artistic paintings, and the other half from skylights above. The rest of the mall was decked out with Christmas trees bedecked in ornaments, lights and tinsel strewn about. As they walked further inside the mall while being unceremoniously and ungracefully shoved out of the way by shoppers in quite the hurry, Gavin felt his hands brush against Nines’ own.

Both men stared at each other for a quick moment, but recovered from it the second Gavin pointed at a large Panasonic HD TV on full display by the top floor of the mall. It was right above the escalators, and it was playing the newest remake of the Christmas classic _Frosty The Snowman_.

Nines caught his line of inquiry, and he briskly flitted ahead past a group of carolers as they sang gleefully while accompanied by an older man playing on a trumpet. The singers threw their heads back and seemed to be singing ‘_O Holy Night’_. It was by far the loveliest live rendition of the piece Gavin had heard.

“O holy night the stars are brightly shining,

It is the night of our dear Savior’s birth!

Long lay the world in sin and error pining!

Till He appeared and the soul felt its worth!”

“Reed?” Nines called up at him, breaking his concentration suddenly.

“Wanna ride the escalator?” Gavin called after him, and Nines only winked.

Together, they rode the way up, plenty of other bodies bunched and pressed up between theirs until they finally reached the brightly lit top floor of the mall. While Frosty danced around with a bunch of children on screen, Nines hung back behind Gavin as the shorter male peered up at the movie.

“Did you watch a lot of Christmas movies with your parents?”

Gavin was taken aback by the random question, but he couldn’t entirely blame Nines for ‘small talk’. After all, it was far better than the alternative of just being silent all the time…

Not looking back at him, Gavin nodded, “Kinda, I mean, whenever they were on, I guess we all watched.” It hadn’t been a lie; he remembered many Christmas specials playing on the TV while he sat wedged between his father and mother, the fireplace making their family room toasty and warm, a bowl of popcorn on his lap, their red, green and white stockings hung up on the fireplace, eggnog wafting in the air…

He smiled fondly at the memories fleeting by.

“It’s a bit early for Christmas stuff, if you ask me…”

“I actually agree with you on that one, Nines.” As he turned and offered the tall android a small smile, the program on the TV suddenly was interrupted, and a voice Gavin _never_ wanted to hear for the rest of his life spoke up.

“I appreciate you having Chloe and I here today on the show, Sandra,” came the chuckle and stuck-up voice of none other than Elijah Kamski, “it’s a thrill, really!!”

Gavin’s blood ran cold in his veins. Ever so slowly, he turned around, and as he peered up at the news segment, he saw a reporter dressed in a tight black skirt with matching black heels and a pink top sitting inside the grandiose living room which looked to be bigger than the entire mall of Mr. Elijah Kamski…

“A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices,

For yonder breaks a new glorious morn!”

Elijah sat before an enormous fireplace, and it was lit and glowing warmly behind himself. He was dressed in the cleanest, whitest suit with a black bow tie Gavin had ever seen. Next to him was none other than the infamous Chloe, also known as the RT600 model; the first android model Kamski designed to successfully pass the Turing Test. She was wearing a lovely black dress with white sashes flowing and running down to the shiny black floor. A gigantic Christmas tree was in the background, and beneath it were stacked at least fifty Christmas presents.

They both smiled as they joined hands and sat comfortably, and the reporter flipped back her long blonde hair as she cried out for the audience, “Christmas with Kamski is looking to be good this year!!”

“That’s right, Sandra!” Kamski sang out as he motioned behind himself at the horde of gifts, “this year, CyberLife is proud to announce that we’re giving away plenty of new—”

No…he’d had enough.

Staring all around himself, Gavin saw that at least two dozen shoppers and citizens of Detroit had circled and gathered beneath the TV, and they were watching in pure awe as Kamski and Chloe showed off their luxurious gifts, their fancy smiles, fancy colors, rich lifestyle…

“Reed?”

His head was pounding, and he turned away from the TV abruptly.

“Fall on your knees,

O hear the angels’ voices!

O night divine,

O night when Christ was born,

O night divine, o night!

O night divine!”

He had to get out of here before he had some kind of a terrible panic attack or seizure. Feeling bile rising into his throat was not a good thing, but it was what he felt as he brushed past Nines and stormed over towards the escalators again.

Fighting to remain calm lest Nines see what kind of an affect Elijah Kamski had on him so he could put the pieces together and figure it all out, Gavin waved at Nines as they fought their way towards the escalator. “I’m fine!” he cried out in pain, “j-just, come on!”

“Reed!!” Nines cried out, swiping at him a few times while Gavin stood in the middle of the escalator as it slowly went down.

It was too slow…why the hell was it moving so slowly?!

The music soon began blending and turning to mush, and as Gavin tried not to focus on it, he held a hand up and cradled an ear while gripping the railing of the escalator in another one. His hands were cold and clammy, and he felt so dizzy, suddenly.

_I’ll be home for Christmas,_

_You can plan on me,_

_Please have snow and mistletoe,_

_And presents on the tree,_

_Christmas Eve will find me,_

_Where the love light gleams,_

_I’ll be home for Christmas,_

_If only in my dreams…_

“Reed!!” Nines thundered after him, and just as he did, Gavin broke away.

“This thing is g-going too slow, Nines!” Now, he practically leapt down two steps at a time, his heart rising and falling as his blood surged forth in his system. His stomach felt full and empty at the same time, and he held a hand to it before he collapsed. He felt so sick, so apprehensive, so dizzy…

_You know Dasher and Dancer and Prancer and Vixen,_

_Comet and Cupid and Donner and Blitzen,_

_But do you recall,_

_The most famous reindeer of all?_

When Nines caught up to him on the second last step of the escalator, he lay a large hand on his shoulder as he whispered, “Reed? What happened back there?”

Gavin snorted, “S’nothin’, Nines…”

_Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,_

_Had a very shiny nose!_

_And if you ever saw it,_

_You would even say it glows…_

Not giving up, Nines followed Gavin as he made his way past video game stores, bookstores, and a coffee and chocolate shop. “No, it’s not ‘nothin’, Reed,” he growled, “you freaked when you saw Elijah Kamski on the TV!”

He was hearing voices, and his head was pounding brutally with a god damn vengeance Gavin had never felt before. Bracing himself up against a wall, he gasped out, “Isn’t the music too loud in here suddenly?!”

_I’ll be home for Christmas,_

_You can plan on me,_

_Please have snow and mistletoe,_

_And presents on the tree…_

“Reed,” Nines growled again, trying to get a hold on the shorter man, but Gavin quickly broke away and made a beeline for the ‘exits’.

The entire time he ran, Gavin muttered all sorts of odd things to himself, and it was a means of drowning out Nines’ accusations and questions. He didn’t want to hear them right now, so he focused on the music…but if only his damn thoughts and memories would allow him to be at peace for once…just _once_! How was it that such a placid day had turned cruel and foreboding in such a short span of time??

_Just hear those sleigh bells jingling, ring tingle tingling too!_

_Come on, it’s lovely weather for a sleigh ride together with you!_

“Reed!! Wait!!”

“I’m leaving, I’m leaving, I’m leaving,” he repeated to himself. This was a bad idea; coming here was bad, and now, he was going to make sure he left.

At the doors, now, Gavin fumbled for his car keys in his pocket, but he had no idea which pocket they were in…

_All of the other reindeer,_

_Used to laugh and call him names!_

_They never let poor Rudolph,_

_Join in any reindeer games!_

The sliding doors opened and closed numerous times, and icy cold air blew in his face, each time, terribly distracting him. Not wanting to give up his search, Gavin gasped and wheezed, “Where a-are my k-keys?!” Hands slipping, he let out a deep groan when he felt something rough in his pockets…

The keys!!!

As soon as he’d yanked them out of his right back pocket, he let out a sigh of relief, but then Nines’ large hand wrapped around his own.

_Christ is the Lord! Oh, praise His Name forever!_

_His power and glory evermore proclaim!_

_Oh, night divine, oh, night when Christ was born!_

Wincing, Gavin whimpered, “Nines, please! It’s t-too loud in here, and I c-can’t think!”

Leaning into him, Nines cried out fearfully, “I know Elijah’s your stepbrother, Reed! I know that!”

As the doors opened again, Gavin felt his heart shattering like the icicles hanging from the edges of the rooftops of buildings outside.

Nines knew…

How…

_Outside the snow is falling and friends are calling “yoo hoo!”_

_Come on, it’s lovely weather for a sleigh ride together with you!_

Wrenching his hand out of Nines’, he spat with plenty of hatred in his voice as his eyes squinted up at the android, “You don’t know shit about me, Nines!”

Shaking his head, Nines pressed on urgently, “Gavin, that’s not true! I’ve watched you, and I know that—”

Holding up a hand, Gavin hissed, “Don’t call me that…”

“Gavin!”

“I’m warning you, fucker…”

_Fall on your knees! Oh, hear the angel voices,_

_Oh, night divine!_

_Oh, night when Christ was born,_

_Oh, night divine, oh, night when Christ was born!_

It was so fucking loud…

Unable to stand it any longer, Gavin shoved his way through the exits with Nines hot on his heels. At least the music hadn’t followed them, but Gavin lowered his head into his chest, chin tucked down as the cold night air blew violently into his face. It was so powerful and so potent that he could hardly blink. His eyelids felt frozen stiff…

“Please!” Nines called out at his back with desperation that was so wild it made Gavin slow down. “Don’t run away; just talk to me, Gavin!!”

…….

Gavin…Gavin…

With a last warning growl, the infuriated detective snapped, “Nines, don’t you fuckin’—”

“Please! Gavin! Don’t you see I want to help you?!”

Gavin…Gavin…

_Gavin…_

……

_“You know I’ve always loved your mother, don’t you, Gavin?”_

……

He saw red.

With a beastly roar, Gavin whirled around just as Nines was diving towards him. Dominant fist raised, Gavin drew it back, and he punched Nines right in the face as hard as he could. Pain seared and surged through his knuckles and towards the back of his fist, but he didn’t care. He’d landed in one good punch, and even though it hurt him more than Nines, he felt proud.

No, he felt _free_.

Nines’ head turned to the side, and he gently held up a few fingers as he touched his nose where some thirium had leaked down from his nostrils. Other than that, he hardly looked troubled, but his LED light blared red before he turned and scowled at Gavin.

“I warned you, you fucker,” Gavin growled, and even though he could hardly move his right hand, he managed to point his index finger at Nines. “Stay away from me; don’t talk to me, don’t try and contact me, and you can get home by yourself.”

And with that cruelly uttered, Gavin wandered over to where he’d parked the car. As he unlocked it, sat down, and turned on the engine, he didn’t even bother looking back at Nines as he drove on out of the parking lot and into the cold, dark night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ......  
So, um, there was a lot of Christmas music in this chapter...


	34. Catharsis

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Early X-Mas gifts! 😁💌🎄🎁🎀🎈⛄

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *HUGE WARNING!! VULGAR SEX TALK*

“So, let me see if I got all this correctly, Gavin,” Hank sighed weakly as he sat down next to Sumo and the new kitten on his living room sofa, “after having a pretty decent time out with Nines, who only wanted to take you out so you wouldn’t be bored out of your damn mind during your suspension, by the way, you got angry with him for askin’ you some questions about Elijah Kamski, and then you punched him in the face???”

Drumming his fingers over his thighs while his face turned beet red, Gavin cringed. “Err, I _may_ have also left him stranded on his own in the mall parking lot…”

Shaking his head at him in disbelief, Hank looked beyond exhausted as he mumbled out brokenly, “How do you get yourself in these situations again, Gavin?”

Looking at the ceiling, Gavin murmured, “Don’t know, honestly.”

Listening in lazily, Sumo yawned and then nuzzled his kitten, the tiny furry creature nesting and sleeping in a tight little ball curled up next to his stomach. Sumo’s thick, bushy tail protectively curled around the kitten, and according to Hank, the pair were inseparable.

Gavin wished he could engage Hank in much better conversation than what he was here for, but it wasn’t the case. Not even a day after he’d punched Nines, he called Hank immediately and requested his time for a chat. Due to the urgency in his voice, Hank was naturally concerned, and he was up well before nine in the morning and announced that Gavin could come over.

The day passed around him in the same somnolent haze as the night before when he attacked Nines. He was grateful that his feigned mood of ‘I’m fine’ seemed to placate his own damn ego, but Hank wasn’t easy to convince. After he’d prepared toast and jam for himself and Gavin as they ate in silence in his kitchen, they’d finally ceased giving each other weird looks and Hank eventually asked if he was alright at random intervals. Unfortunately, his exhaustion made Gavin feel like the day had been turned into one painfully long college lesson. No matter what he did, he couldn’t clear the sleepy and murky fog from his brain.

Hank had muttered something about needing to decorate his house for Christmas, at least until Gavin’s head was cleared enough for talking and presenting his thoughts to him. His guest had volunteered to help him with setting up Christmas decorations, and Hank gladly took him up on his offer immediately after breakfast.

They worked together silently for some time, and Gavin found that unlike the previous two evenings, he had too much on his mind to even feel bored. He chewed on the cuticles around his thumbnail absently and punctuated his work with a few furtive glances towards Hank. The older man hid his weariness well at first, though as they got lost in their efficacious work, Gavin grew distracted with time. Furious at his inability to concentrate for the third time in a row, Hank gently smacked him on the back for messing up something so ridiculous. It roused him out of his daydreaming, and also unsettled Gavin by the growing warmth in the pit of his stomach every time he glanced out the foggy window while thinking of Nines. He felt his cheeks grow warm, but if Hank had noticed, he didn’t comment on it.

When the older man suggested for Gavin to take a tiny break, the distracted detective garbled something rather incoherent that sounded like it was close to ‘yes sir,’ but it seemed to stumble in his throat, and came out as a grunt. He strode over to the window and resumed the tedious task of thinking about Nines his brain had set out for him.

After two more hours of brooding about Hank’s house, the Christmas decorations were finally complete. The front entrance was covered in glittering decorations from top to bottom. Gold garlands hung tastefully from the walls, dotted with floating fairy lights plugged into the electric outlets. A soft, red blanket and matching pillows now rested on the sofas in the living room. Gavin could see a large tree fully decorated in gold and silver. It too was covered in a garland, and glass bulbs reflected the blinking lights. Tinsel draped artfully along the walls throughout Hank’s house, and everything seemed warmer and friendlier.

Happy with their work, Hank suggested that they go out for a brisk walk, especially considering how Sumo needed it, as well.

In the end, Hank, Sumo, and Gavin all ended up walking to a dog park next to a children’s playground, only a tiny fence dividing them from one another. The kids-happy and eager enough to play with the dogs-still snuck out their fingers in between the gaps of the chain-link fence. Rounds of giggling rang in the air when the dogs would lick their little fingers, their breaths coming out as thick clouds of steam in the cold, afternoon wintery air.

Gavin and Hank sat down on a very cold wooden and black framed bench. Taking the time to have a cigarette while Hank unleashed Sumo inside the dog park to play around a little with the other dogs, the older male sighed as he leaned back and crossed a leg over his kneecap.

“So,” he finally grumbled out as he stretched his hands out behind himself and rested them on the length of the top of the bench frame, “you wanna explain why the hell you’re being such an asshole towards Nines lately?”

Gavin rolled his eyes while puffing out the first drag he’d taken from his cigarette. “It’s a bit weird, Hank.”

The older man snorted, “Surprise me, then. I’m pretty damn old, and believe me, my life’s not that exciting anymore, so I could use a laugh or two.”

Fine, he’d asked for it.

Trying to keep it clean, Gavin sighed out as he too almost mirrored the same body posture and sitting posture Hank had taken up. “Nines is…I think he l-likes me…” he stated with a lot of difficulty, and he missed how Hank sarcastically tilted his head at him.

Sneering, the older man gasped in a strident manner, “Oh! No shit! What gave it away??” Hank’s sarcasm practically dripped off his face, a moue of disgust flooding his otherwise tranquil demeanor.

Surprised by what he’d heard, Gavin held onto his cigarette while fishing into his jacket pockets for his gloves. Eyebrows raised high, he found his gloves, put them on, and then took another deep drag from his cigarette. “H-how did you know?”

Hank waved a pink hand at him, the skin a bit bothered due to the cold. “Well, when you guys showed up to help me pick out a kitten, Nines wouldn’t and couldn’t stop starin’ at you.”

He hadn’t noticed, of course, and Gavin merely hung his head down as he balanced his cigarette between his gloved fingers. “I’m not gay though, Hank,” he stated openly, hoping he hadn’t offended the man with too much detail at once.

Shrugging, Hank muttered openly, “Well, for all you know, perhaps Nines isn’t either, but maybe he doesn’t give a fuck about shit like that in order to be close to a person and care for them.”

That was a rather jarring statement, and Gavin frowned upon hearing it. Flicking his ashes down beneath his boots, he growled, “I don’t want to be with Nines, Hank.”

“Why not?”

Gavin groaned irritably, “Because I can’t picture myself taking a dick up my ass, Hank! That’s why!”

Hank only winced, “As eloquent as ever, I see...Gavin.”

“I’m sorry,” Gavin stated as he blushed, a penitent expression flooding his facial features as he continued on. “Anyway, I just don’t need his help, but he’s really damn persistent sometimes.”

Children ran and played out in the square playground beyond the divided line between where they were sat and the dog park. Their shrieking giggles of delight did not permeate Gavin’s ears horribly, but the evidence of joy was unmistakable on their faces. For a while, Gavin watched them, and tried to siphon off some of their joy. He could see the now snow-covered old overgrown hedges of the maze beyond the park move abnormally in the light breeze, and he could make out the shape of someone smoking near a tree in the far back corner of the playground.

Letting out another pained sigh, then, Gavin held out his hands, waving them in an animated way as he jumbled his contumacious thoughts out. “It’s not that I don’t appreciate what he’s doing; but he’s _not_ my god damn therapist!!”

As his tobacco and nicotine breath floated about in the air, Hank sat back and crossed his arms over his chest. Perhaps to keep himself warm, or perhaps to look more serious and intimidating. Gavin didn’t know, but he felt drawn to listen as he stared on at Hank.

“Gavin,” the older man spoke out with utmost patience and calm in his voice, “did it ever occur to you that perhaps you _don’t_ need a therapist right now?”

Thinking about it in silence, Gavin sniffed, and then just shrugged an insouciant shrug.

“You can’t go on like this, Gavin,” Hank advised, staring seriously over at Gavin until the younger man felt compelled to look over and meet Hank’s penetrating gaze.

Growling between clenched teeth, Gavin hissed, “I’m _not _gonna have sex with Nines, Hank!”

Reaching over and shoving him roughly in the shoulder, Hank only offered him a glare. Nearly dropping his cigarette in shock, Gavin mumbled under his breath, but remained silent due to the rather intense and smoldering look Hank cast his way.

“Would you get your mind out of the damn gutter for a minute and hear me out?” Trying to keep his voice down, Hank pressed on, “Never mind the sex stuff for a moment, Gavin!”

When Gavin proved to remain silent and pensive for long enough, Hank prattled on superbiously.

“I meant to say that perhaps Nines can provide more for you than any damn therapist ever could!”

Surveying over the entire park as he slowly held out his hand holding the burning cigarette to his lips, Gavin then wet them with a quick swipe of his tongue before snickering coldly. “Oh yeah? And what the hell could that be then, Hank?”

As a few crows and geese flew through the air high above the icy, wintery lands, drowning out the sounds of children laughing and dogs barking for a brief moment, Gavin stared down at his hands in mild shame for lashing out yet again at Hank when the older male was only trying to help him.

Peeking at his boots, next, he crunched hard, frozen ice and snow beneath his feet, and for some reason, it gave him some sort of calm and levity.

While he continued crunching away and molding the snow under his boots, Hank gently reached out again, but this time, he massaged Gavin’s shoulder. Gavin didn’t even pry the other man’s hand off his cold, rigid body; he didn’t mind the kind, soothing gesture, actually.

Inhaling softly, Hank’s nose twitched. “Nines can offer you a listening ear from the perspective of friendship, Gavin,” the sagacious advice suddenly came out. Lowering his leg to the cold, hard ground, Hank stared over at Sumo as the canine ran around some tree stumps and chased after a few other small dogs.

Smiling then at the state of happiness his own pet displayed, Hank concluded, “Nines isn’t getting paid to listen to whatever you have to say, Gavin; either way you look at it, he’ll be an unbiased source, and in my personal opinion…” Allowing his voice to trail off for a moment of dramatic effect, he finally took his time before he finished, “…He’ll be a good friend to you, Gavin. I don’t know about what else the future may hold, but one thing I can take with me to the grave is the knowledge that Nines can be the most loyal friend until the end…_if_ you allow him.”

Gavin reflected on this statement until it’d grown so dark and cold that they needed to head back to Hank’s house. The entire way there, plenty of conflicting thoughts plagued and burdened him, but at least he was at peace and proud of himself for reaching out to Hank.

Those who admitted they had problems often got help for it, so it seemed.

~0~0~0~0~0

When Gavin had asked Hank whether or not he could spend the night in his home, he honestly hadn’t been expecting for the older man to actually allow him to do so. Hank went ahead and surprised him, however, and as soon as he’d been permitted, Gavin found himself sleeping rather comfortably on Hank’s living room couch.

He couldn’t complain, as it’d been warmer than he anticipated, and he discovered that the Christmas lights hanging about the hallway and on the walls actually soothed him and sent him into a deep, dreamless sleep. Unfortunately, at first morning light, Gavin woke up to a rather intense and-in his opinion-rather rude phone call message his landlord had left for him. To his dismay, the bleary detective learned that he was to begin his first week of December being evicted.

Knowing he seriously couldn’t cough up the money for his rent, Gavin knew it was time for himself to begin looking elsewhere for shelter. He wasn’t however going to abuse his inflated pride and ego by asking or begging anyone for money or for a place to stay. Gavin Reed _never_ begged. He considered very briefly for a second that perhaps he could ask his mother for some money, but remembering his current age, he snapped out of that. Grown adults dealt with their own personal shit and worked through their struggles, regardless of the intensity of them and the difficult obstacles strewn about.

Perhaps he could appeal to the bank and take out another loan…?

On Wednesday, December 2nd, Gavin made the painful, treacherous journey back to his own apartment to pack up his personal belongings and leave for good. He wasn’t interested enough in battling with his jackass of a landlord and taking him to fight in a small claims or Federal court. The man was far too stubborn, recalcitrant, and would probably end up having a damn field day with the case more than anything else.

No…as much as he liked and trusted the legal system of his country, it wasn’t perfect when it came to certain, sensitive things. He knew that due to having first-hand knowledge working as a detective and observing so many similar cases.

Packing his collection of belts, boots, gloves, and old scarves in a large box, Gavin found he should’ve thrown out some of his older clothes, but for some reason, he didn’t want to part with them for now…god damn attachments!!

Maybe he really _was_ a stupid hoarder after all…

A few times as he’d been emptying out his closet and looking under his bed for anything he may have hidden and stored away long ago, the mother tabby came in and out of his apartment. She seemed to be quite bored and exhausted, and she only resorted to grooming herself as Gavin cleaned beneath his bed thoroughly.

His furry feline companion watched him for a while, but then she decided to take an interest in rubbing herself playfully and affectionately against Gavin while he cleaned and worked. Though he didn’t mind it, the motions she created pushed his items around, and she soon randomly decided to take a nap right on top of his stack of clean sheets, towels, and bedding. Gavin let her rest there for a while, but when he needed to place his sheets into a basket to take out to his car, he had to move her.

Mewling and growling angrily for being awakened and moved, she headbutted his back while he placed the bedding and towels inside a dark, plastic basket. Gavin reached down and rubbed her head affectionately, and she soon wandered off afterwards back towards the open window.

Looking at her as she leapt up on the windowsill and bounded off, Gavin knew she was lonely and now that her kittens were all gone, she likely had nothing else to do…almost like himself.

…..

Well, he _had_ something to do, but it was a matter of him being lazy, egotistical, and prideful. That was the only block between going for what he wanted and just ignoring the itch that seemed to begin in his head, and then very slowly, it spread all throughout his body.

He needed to talk to Nines; he needed to apologize, first.

But Nines was…had he even arrived home safely the night Gavin just left him there?! Was he angry with him??

The questions annoyed Gavin to no end, and he decided it was wise to take a break from packing. Might as well man up to what he’d done and beg for forgiveness? No…maybe…??

Since his bed was now clear of sheets, Gavin sat himself down on the edge of it, and as his stomach tied itself wildly in knots as did his heart while racing far too quickly, he held his phone in his hands and stared at Nines’ contact number.

_Text…no! _

…..

_Call! _

Calling would be much better, and Gavin could properly apologize on voice.

Yes…that was a good idea, but his hands trembled, and he nearly dropped the phone before his index finger tapped on Nines’ contact information and dialed him right up.

Leaving it on speaker, Gavin listened to at least six rings go through before a loud ‘beep!’ echoed into his ears. Cringing, he disconnected, and then tried again.

Beep!!

_What???_

Frustrated, Gavin tried again, and this time, after the ‘beep’ went off, Gavin decided to leave a message. It was good that Nines hadn’t blocked his number, but since the android didn’t exactly have an ‘answering machine’ or an ‘outbox’, who was to say whether he would get the message???

Well, he had to at least try and take a chance!

Closing his eyes as the beep went off again, Gavin finally tried speaking from the heart as Hank had instructed him to do. This was going to be a sincere apology, of course, and as he rehearsed it once quickly in his head, he licked his lips and went for it.

It had to come out naturally.

Croaking, he rasped out, “H-hey, Nines, it’s…it’s me…”

_No shit._

Wincing, he continued, “I just…you’ll find this funny, I think, but I just got evicted from my apartment, and I guess it’s pretty good payback for—”

His recording had been cut off, and Gavin heard a ‘click’.

A second later, a deep, angry voice growled out to him, “Don’t talk to me, Reed.”

Shit…Nines was _definitely _pissed, but he technically had every right to be pissed.

Surprised Nines hadn’t hung up on him, yet, Gavin quickly cried out, “Nines, I’m sorry I—”

“Reed,” Nines warned in a hiss as he punctuated out every word slowly and carefully, “You. Beat. Me. Up. And. Left. Me. Stranded…why the hell should I listen to a word you have to say?”

“I wanted to apologize!” Gavin snapped irritably, “my life’s no fuckin’ picnic, Nines, and I swear, in the middle of all my stress associated with leavin’ my damn apartment, I—”

Interrupting him again, Nines growled thickly, “Oh, and I suppose you’re only coming to me for a place to stay then, are you?!”

Enraged by this accusation, Gavin screamed out, “I don’t need your help!!”

“Like hell you don’t, Reed!”

Whimpering like a broken child, suddenly, Gavin cried through clenched teeth, “I c-can’t ask you to let me s-stay, and I won’t!!”

Not even a moment went by before Nines lowered his voice, and with utmost gentleness, he declared, “You can stay, Reed.”

Gavin’s heart flew through the air, and then came crashing down to his feet, right where he felt his stomach was, practically. After everything…after all he’d done to Nines, the android was _still_ being kind to him? Why?

“Why’re you h-helping me?” he breathed out with minor difficulty, shaking and trembling so much that he lay on his back flatly and closed his eyes.

It took Nines a while to answer, and for a moment, Gavin assumed he’d offended the dour android by going too far with his question. But then, through it all, Nines surprised Gavin yet again as he replied, “Because I just want to help you, Reed; there’s no ulterior motive for me in this.”

“I…I don’t—”

“Then don’t; just stay.”

Eyes still closed, Gavin sighed, “Are you sure?”

“If I weren’t, I wouldn’t offer.”

They remained on the phone in silence. Gavin struggled to find something to say that didn’t sound completely stupid, but he kept coming up empty. When he felt drained of the last of the energy he really had, he only muttered out, “Thank you.”

With a semi-exhausted sigh, Nines drawled, “Don’t mention it, Reed; just don’t punch me ever again, alright?”

Nodding quickly, Gavin’s brows came together in a furrowed motion as he asked gently, “Wait, how did you get home, anyway?”

“Funny invention, Reed,” Nines began in quite the sarcastic growl, “it’s called a ‘bus’! Useful machine, isn’t it? You should really take one some time.”

“Oh, knock it off, man!” Gavin interrupted briskly, eyes rolling so far back into his head it hurt. “I already said I was sorry, and I feel like shit because of all this!!”

With a grunt, Nines whispered, “Prick.”

The child in Gavin retorted moodily with, “Asshole.”

Nines didn’t say anything after the last crude remark, but that had calmed Gavin. Sometimes, certain things didn’t need to be said, but felt. The weary detective relaxed significantly, though he could still feel the faint quiver of his hands shaking a little. Oddly, he could no longer tell if it was from excitement or nervousness.

Fabric rustled on the other end of the line, and it hurt Gavin’s ears to listen to since it was on speaker.

“What’re you doin’, Nines?”

With a tiny snort, the android replied quickly, “I’m merely lying down on my infernal sofa, Reed, is that alright with you?”

“No need to be sarcastic, you jerk!” Gavin snapped back, though it lacked a lot of bite. He was honestly curious as to why Nines was lying down on a piece of furniture meant for _humans_.

Deciding to ask due to his incessant curiosity nagging at him to do so, Gavin spoke out, “Comfy, there?”

More rustling came at his ears, and Nines responded gently, “As comfy as you are in an empty apartment, I imagine.”

“Half empty, I guess,” Gavin sighed as he stared all around his bedroom. “Just me and my empty bedroom, Nines.”

Suddenly, the android purred out semi-seductively, “Alone, huh?”

As soon as he’d said this, for some messed-up reason, Gavin closed his eyes, and he imagined Nines standing there in his room regarding him with a look of hungry desire. It sent shocks of arousal to his groin, and he felt his cock twitch slightly. His thoughts scrambled erratically as he tried fighting it down. Now was _not _an opportune time for this, and he hated that his lusty body had reacted in such a horrible way to an innocent question Nines merely asked.

As Gavin continuously imagined Nines in the room, he felt himself flush under the android’s intense gaze. Coughing, he then quickly licked his lips in nervous anticipation.

“Alone is good, Nines…”

Shifting again, the android asked quietly, “Is it?” His voice left odd, lingering effects on Gavin’s body, and the detective strained his ears as he focused too much on the deep richness of Nines’ voice that was almost akin to scissors gliding and cutting through silk so softly…

Damn him…

His cock was fully hard, and Gavin quickly took Nines off speaker. Pressing the phone against his ear, he whispered, “You uh…you wearin’ your punk, err…I mean, goth outfit, there?”

…...

What a stupid, perverted thing to ask. Gavin nearly cursed himself for being so out of practice that he had to resort to asking what Nines was wearing in such a crude manner, but it seemed the android didn’t mind.

Chuckling warmly, he seemed to get the hint as he said, “If you wanted to know what I was wearing, Reed, all you had to do was ask.”

Gavin groaned softly, and he shifted his hands upwards to try and stifle his groan from escaping, but it was too late.

Nines growled wantonly, “Are you—”

Gavin coughed out, “No, I mean…not really…are you?”

“Yes,” Nines purred, “I only have my pants on.”

Throwing his head back, Gavin wheezed out, “Holy fuck…” Nines without a shirt sitting there with his perfectly smooth and chiseled abs and chest out in the open?? Greek gods would weep!! Gavin’s mouth went dry immediately.

Shifting again, the sofa creaked as Nines whispered out seductively and hungrily, “Are you going to take anything off?”

Encouraged, it took only a few seconds for Gavin’s hands to go from cupping his mouth to slipping under his shirt and pressing against his ribs. Allowing his hands to slide slowly downwards, he let his fingertips trail a warm path before resting on his waist. His fingers slipped under the hem of his shirt to caress the skin stretched over his hipbones. The light contact made him shiver.

As much of an imagination and fantasy as Gavin had going, Nines apparently had his own, as well. Growling deeply as he settled himself on his sofa, he didn’t make half as many wanton sounds as Gavin had made, but his sense of self-control seemed to heat up Gavin from the inside.

He wanted to hear Nines come undone.

Eyes partly open in small slits, Gavin gasped, the oxygen in his lungs already so fugacious, “Are you…umm…are you touching y-yourself, Nines?”

“Not yet,” the android answered him truthfully, “lie down in the center of your bed, first, and imagine me there with you.”

Scrambling as he did just that obediently, Gavin whispered hurriedly, “O-okay, I will…”

“Such a good boy,” Nines commented, the grin on his face practically more than obvious for his own good. “Lie back on the bed and tell me what you’re doing.”

Too quickly, Gavin cried out, “I’m g-gonna lie down and jack off to your voice.”

He could almost see Nines’ nod as his LED light beamed blue. “You’re going to enjoy my voice now.”

“Yesssss…”

While Gavin could still feel the smallest bit of nervousness underlying his conglomeration of other emotions, his near-painful erection straining against his trousers did most of the thinking for him, and he allowed himself to be led away.

A distinctive wet spot had blossomed on the front of his jeans, a sight that made the aroused detective moan as he rested an incredibly sweaty hand lightly over the bulge of his own erection. Letting out another moan, he was certain that it would take very little effort to bring himself to orgasm at this point.

Gruffly, Nines hissed passionately, “Are you thinking about me?”

Imagination on overdrive, Gavin sighed out ardently, “Yesssss!”

In his mind, Nines was on top of him on the bed as well. The android would press his palms onto Gavin’s thighs just above his knees, and slide his hands slowly upward. His thumbs would brush the innermost part of the limb, stopping just short of Gavin’s very obvious and now near-painful erection. He groaned in frustration, arching his hips invitingly, but still, Nines only growled back in reply. Gavin then opened and closed his fists, trying to work through the pile of mush his brain had become, struggling to form a coherent sentence to demand that Nines do something before he exploded.

“Take your jeans off.”

His deft fingers unhooked the button and unzipped the garment, peeling it off at a pace so slow that Gavin was certain it had to be deliberate.

Grinding his teeth together as he arched his back and ass off the bed and threw his jeans to the floor, he moaned out, “Nines…I w-wish you were here with me…”

In a low growl portraying just how much Gavin’s words had affected him, Nines almost hungrily and greedily exclaimed, “I am here…I am here for you.”

Gavin never wanted Nines to stop talking. It was odd; he’d _never _been so highly turned on and aroused by a man’s voice, but Nines’ voice dripped sex and lust, now, and Gavin’s carnal side only wanted more as he began curling his fingers around his cock over his boxer briefs.

Auditory powers now heightened; Gavin heard Nines’ own hand moving over his slick length. Nines’ movements soon became more erratic, causing Gavin to gasp when he imagined feeling Nines’ hand instead of his own shifting from his hip to coil around his cock. Would he palm Gavin in time with his own thrusts??

Longing to hear more of Nines’ deep groaning that spurred him on beyond belief, Gavin was clutching his cock with a death grip and holding onto the edge of the bed-frame with another hand, desperately trying to keep his voice down so neighbors wouldn’t hear. It proved to be difficult, so he opted for a different strategy.

Begging as he gripped the phone, now, he cried out while his right hand was still resting beneath his boxers, “Nines…God…p-please s-say something!!”

Grunting, Nines inquired, “What do you—”

“Please!” Gavin whined, “I’m a-aching all over!”

Though he was less than thrilled to wake from his highly satisfying dreams and fantasies to find his own right hand absently stroking himself rather than Nines’, hearing the android talk hotly in his ear would greatly help. He was at once horrified and too horny to care about the fact that this was still _Nines_, and he beat himself off halfheartedly while waiting for Nines to acquiesce to his last demand.

Gavin’s ears caught the sound of slick, heated flesh being grabbed at and stroked, and he knew Nines was eagerly touching himself. Imagining the powerful, well-built android lying there completely naked on his leather sofa while masturbating sent a wave of shock and sexuality slamming into Gavin so potently, that the multitudinous amounts of self-control he had to exert over himself were unsurpassed.

Almost coming apart at the seams, he cried out, “Niiines, d-do something—”

“I need you, Gavin,” came the deep rumble of a reply, “I want to hold you close, touch you, kiss you, and—”

“Noooo!” he shook his head, his hand momentarily releasing his own cock as he completely shimmied out of his boxers. “Nines,” he coughed as he tried catching his breath, but it was so difficult due to what he’d wanted to ask.

Sensing his hesitation, Nines’ strokes slowed down as well. “Gavin, what is it?”

Toying with the hem of his shirt, Gavin couldn’t decide to take it off, so he left it on. Staring at the ceiling for a moment while he was in a semi-lucid state, he shook in pure mortification. “Nah…it’s…it’s n-nothing, Nines…” he uncomfortably blabbed out, hands shaking again, “…please f-f-forget it?”

Nines didn’t even hesitate before he supplied, “No, I want you to feel good, Gavin, and I’ll do anything you need me to.”

That was a rather loaded statement, and the implications of it sent delicious throbs and pools of desire right into the tip of Gavin’s already tumescent cock. Naturally, his hands resumed their motions over his erection, stroking it quickly and firmly. Not wanting to lose the moment, Gavin whined, “Just…please…it’s…it’s embarrassing!!!”

Nines still hadn’t resumed touching himself, and that seemed to annoy Gavin. Not wanting to be the only one beating off and run the risk of being viewed as some kind of a pervert, Gavin groaned, “Fine…forget it…”

It was stupid, anyway.

But as he went to move off the bed, Nines clicked out hurriedly, “Nothing’s embarrassing between us, Gavin. Tell me what you want.”

His cock begged and begged and begged, and he couldn’t stand the idea of walking around with a painful erection all day long. Also not wanting to be that older, single guy without a girlfriend and having gone so long without physical intimacy who jerked off at the smallest thing, Gavin arched off his bed in sheer frustration. He could feel his skin turning hotter and sweatier, and it was enough.

Sitting up, he yanked his shirt off, and now, he was completely naked on his bed.

Lying back down, he hissed in a warning at Nines, “D-do you promise you w-won’t repeat this or f-f-find me weird??”

Already, he could hear Nines stroking himself shamelessly again, clearly egged on by Gavin’s lewd and lust-filled moans and whines. After a deep groan that was hardly suppressed, Nines sang out, “I promise you, Gavin, I won’t think you’re weird.”

That was a relief, and Nines truly sounded like he meant it.

With renewed courage coursing through his system, now, Gavin once again took to playing with himself. Starting from his balls, he massaged them gently, still thinking that it was Nines’ hand over his own instead of a solo job. Throwing his head back and sighing as his body lit up and was covered with more thick drops of sweat, he cooed loudly, “I n-need you to talk t-to me, b-but…” Wincing when he’d pulled on the tip of his erection a tad too roughly, he trembled before continuing, “…I need you to r-really talk dirty to me, Nines…”

Would Nines understand, now?? Though Gavin didn’t want to go into explicit details, what he yearned for extended far beyond a simple mash of ‘I want to do such and such and this and that to you’. No, he needed to be talked down to, he wanted to be degraded, and he needed to know just how damn filthy and sullied he was. Only then would he feel wanted, complete, desired, and valued. Sex to him always came as a means of exchanging certain desires and needs until both parties were satisfied, and this was much the same. He was using Nines, and Nines was using him, and when they were done, it wasn’t going to mean anything. Why be so ‘romantic’ and ‘fluffy’ about it?

Having convinced himself of this enough while he waited and prayed for Nines to get on with it, Gavin lost and surrendered himself to his fantasies. Now, they consisted of his own fingers laced through the messy black strands covering Nines’ head, pulling roughly at different intervals when the handsome android would do something particularly enticing to his body…preferably such as sucking his weeping cock.

Positive he was beyond ready and wet, now, Gavin was about to cry out again, but Nines saved him by cutting through the barriers.

Voice teetering on the edge of losing self-control, he gravelly spat out, “Are you absolutely sure you want me to—”

“Oh God! Yes!” Gavin screamed in mild anger, “yes I’m sure, Nines!”

“Very well, then.”

Bracing himself, Gavin closed his eyes tightly, blocking out the sounds of the wind outside, traffic moving about, and the old heating system kicking up in the apartment. Now, he just needed and wanted Nines’ voice to be his undoing; his breaking point, his salvation, his state of constant misery, and his only thread of sanity in the waking world.

Stroking himself languidly to draw out the pleasure before the moment finished all too quickly, Nines took his time, as though he was slowly piecing the words together. But Gavin however knew that this was the utmost form of torture; making him wait and anticipate the moment that chocolate rich, deep voice reverberated through his body.

Breaths hitching in his throat as he waited, Gavin let out a strained whimper when the more anxious and flustered side of his brain warned him that perhaps Nines wasn’t going to go through with this…

And then, Nines emitted a low, beastly growl that made Gavin’s hair stand on end.

“Are you still stroking your cock while imagining my hand on you?”

Staring down at his cock in his hand, Gavin nodded, “Y-yes.”

“Hmm,” Nines hummed in thought, “bet you’re a greedy fucking whore then, aren’t you?”

At that exact moment, Gavin felt his toes involuntarily curling. Moving his hand over his length faster, his mind and heart both reeled in pure delight. “Ohhh…” he panted out in raw need, “fuuuuck…”

Chuckling, Nines commented, “I wonder if you’re aware of how slutty you sound.”

“Moooore, Niiiines,” Gavin wheezed as he writhed around in the center of the bed like a worm on a hook dangling.

Only degradation was what he wanted, and Nines seemed happy with providing that for him.

“Don’t even think about taking your hand off your cock, you bitch,” came his deep growl, nearly making Gavin’s rib cage rattle from the intensity of it, “so needy, so deliciously pitiful...”

He was, and he needed to hear more of it.

“Niiines, keep g-going!”

“Yeah, I bet you want me to keep going, because it’s never enough for that greedy body of yours, is it?”

Now, Gavin really was imagining the things Nines was saying he wanted to do to him, and his body was on fire as he whined and thrashed almost violently on the bed. All sorts of obscene noises emanated from the bed squeaking and creaking in time with Gavin’s hips thrusting out, and his labored breathing rose above it all as he stroked himself firmly.

Snarling, Nines spat, “Are you really that much of a slut that you can’t even wait to have my fingers in your needy ass? Or are you going to immediately stuff three of them in one go?”

It was horrifyingly debasing, but Gavin still cried out for more as his eyelashes and eyelids fluttered rapidly.

“I bet you’re tight,” Nines purred deliciously, and it sent lovely sensations throughout Gavin’s entire body. “I bet that ass could really take the pounding it so deserves from me.”

“H-holy fuck!!”

“Is that what you want, you fucking whore? Hmm?” Nines goaded him licentiously, “think you can behave yourself? I doubt you have the self-control for that.”

Yanking at his hair while his right hand flew up and down his cock with potent bursts of speed, Gavin garbled out a stream of nonsense while he heard Nines also shifting and moving harder and faster on his sofa.

Snapping at him, then, Nines bellowed, “How do you want my dick, baby? Hmm? Want me to fuck you right in front of everyone you know and everyone we work with? Is that it?” Viciously, he hissed thinly, “Outside? Do you want them to see and hear while I show them all just how good this big, hard dick makes you feel as you take it all inch by inch?”

“Yes! Yesss! Yess!! Fuck!!!” With each accentuated word, Gavin wildly thrust his hips, and he knew he was close when his balls tightened in that age-old delicious, rapturous way. It really had been too long for him, after all…

Taking it as far as he could, Nines proudly groaned out, “I’m going to make sure everyone knows who you belong to, who owns you, and who can only make you come as hard as you’re going to come, now.”

Eyes slowly opening, Gavin whimpered out on a high note, “Niiiiiiiiiiiiines!!!”

Crudely, the android added, “Your body is only a tool for pleasure; nothing more. I’m going to just use it for that purpose, and when I’m done with you, I’ll make sure my scent and my mark are all over you.”

Images flew in Gavin’s mind as he imagined Nines biting him, sucking his skin until he had love bites all over and hickeys, and in a second, he also saw Nines coming all over his face…

He let out rounds of hungry, deep groans, completely unable to contain himself any longer.

“That’s right, you fucking—”

“NIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINES!”

“Touch your nipples, NOW!”

Obediently, he ran his finger over one hard nipple, and the sensation caused Gavin to shiver. He hadn’t forgotten about his cock, and as he stroked it, he made sure he paid attention to other sensitive areas of his body. This was truly new; he’d never really played with his nipples in this way, but now that Nines had drawn attention to it, Gavin couldn’t stop touching them.

Focusing again on Nines’ voice, he heard the android huffing heavily, but for some reason, the stroking seemed to have stopped on his end…

He didn’t care; he needed release, and that was the only thing Gavin had on his mind for the time being.

Before he could beg Nines, however, the android seemed to be a few steps ahead of him.

“Who told you to slow down? Hmm?” Again, the dominant, deep voice pulled at the center and pit of his stomach, “Keep going, filthy, dirty slut.”

“Ooooh!! Nghh!! S-so c-close!”

In a demanding tone, Nines cried, “I want you to come for me, Gavin…”

And he did without much more effort.

With a strained cry, Gavin came for the first time that evening, sputtering over his stomach, the bedspread, and his own hand. His cries seemed to have pushed himself to the edge, and he released one final time before slumping forward and fell boneless onto the mattress. He realized he’d been screaming so loudly that his throat ached and burned, and his lungs felt as though they’d been stretched. His sternum hurt as though an elephant had sat on him, and he tried gasping for mouthfuls of fresh air like he’d been drowning and only resurfaced at the last minute.

With his heart beating steadily in his ears, he felt the steam and heat rising off his neck, cheeks, and from the top of his head. When he moved, he felt how sweaty even his hair was, and the wet strands clung and stuck to the back of his neck in a disgusting manner. His own spend was rapidly cooling off and sticking to his skin, and the distinct smell of semen flew about in the air.

Recoiling from it, Gavin wriggled onto his side, and as he fought to gain his strength back in his knees and legs, he smiled weakly.

He’d never felt better.

Clearing his throat once he felt ready enough to talk, he whispered breathlessly, “Th-thank you, Nines, that was the be—”

And suddenly, without so much as a warning, Nines hung up on Gavin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feckin love the way I wrote Hank, and holy shitsicle, Gavin...Nines...boys...chill.  
All jokes aside, though, there was a huge reason why I chose to compose this segment this way.


	35. The Bitter Glass

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Father Hank and Gavin moments are my FAVORITE.

Gavin was truly baffled. Not only had Nines helped give him one of the best and most delightfully powerful orgasms he’d experienced in a long, long time, but in the same breath, he’d also pushed Gavin right out. The detective was rendered beyond speechless when he’d attempted numerous times to reconnect with Nines, only to find that again, his number was blocked.

Stupid Nines!! Didn’t they supposedly have an agreement for Gavin to stay over at his place?! How could the blasted android have reneged on his promise?!

After sending numerous texts inquiring about just that, Gavin found that his messages were not only ignored, but each and every one of them bounced right back to him. When he’d received his tenth ‘_error, failed to send to recipient’_ text, that was when he took his belongings and stormed down to return his apartment key to his landlord in the basement level of the damn building. A dark cloud of anguish seethed over his head the entire time, so much that it practically buried and smothered Gavin beyond comprehension. Even breathing was difficult…

A quick phone call with Hank Anderson however was his lifesaver. The older man stated that after his own work shift, he would be more than happy to allow Gavin to stay with him for as long as he liked and needed.

Ideally, although grateful, the irate detective didn’t want to overstep his bounds, so he elucidated to Hank that he would stay only until he could get a hold of Nines and figure out what was going on.

Immediately after saying this out loud to his elderly co-worker in the late morning the next day, Gavin fell into deep-seated regret. Not only did Hank toss him scornful looks, but he also decided to dish out plenty of lectures while he tried probing Gavin for more information pertaining to what he’d done to Nines.

“Hank, leave it alone,” Gavin wailed mournfully for the hundredth time as the other male filled up Sumo’s doggie dish with fresh food and treats. Almost right away upon hearing the bowl being filled up, the orange and white kitten ran over towards the bowl and began feasting merrily. Sumo soon joined his kitty companion, nuzzling the tiny, furry animal as they ate together.

Pointing at the sheer oddity of it all, Gavin commented weakly, “But he’s a cat…”

Staring over at the animals in the kitchen, Hank’s eyes widened slightly. “Oh yeah,” he let out a small, subdued chuckle before pressing on. “Apparently, Shinobi thinks he’s a dog; eatin’ outta Sumo’s bowl is the most natural thing in the world for him and has been for a while, so I just let him keep doin’ it.”

Gavin quirked a brow. “_Shinobi_?”

Blushing, Hank chuckled louder this time. “Yeah, it’s what I named the cat.”

Sumo and ‘Shinobi’? Somehow, that wasn’t a poor choice for a name…

Nodding in his approval, Gavin had meant to continue branching off into that type of a new topic, but Hank stopped him shortly.

“Nice try with the little distraction technique there, Gavin, but you forget that I’ve been playing this game long before you even had a cellphone, kid.”

Glaring at Hank’s triumphant grin plastered on his face, Gavin snorted crudely, “Wise ass.”

“So tell me, then,” Hank softly goaded as he sat down across from Gavin at the kitchen table, taking a quick second to eye his baskets, boxes, and duffle bags containing his personal belongings.

Gavin’s entire world was now simply reduced to boxes and baskets which hung around the entrance to Hank Anderson’s bright kitchen.

“Tell me what miraculous thing you did to shut Nines down from helping you.” The demand was raw and clear in Hank’s voice, and Gavin couldn’t ignore it.

However, his mind had wandered.

Nearly missing the Lieutenant’s posed question the first time around, Gavin’s brain hurriedly repeated it over while the spoken words slowly and deeply sank into his head, penetrating the levels of consciousness and understanding one nerve ending at a time.

Trying to stifle a displeased, uncomfortable gasp, Gavin was already scrambling for a fabricated version of the events. Unfortunately, Hank sensed it, and he immediately pointed a finger sharply in his face.

Scowling heatedly, Hank’s thick, grey eyebrows clenched together firmly on his brow ridge before he warned, “And _no_ lies or bullshit, Gavin!! Do you hear me?”

Rolling his eyes petulantly, Gavin wheezed, “Well, it’s kinda embarrassing, Hank…”

“I don’t care, Gavin,” his older friend briskly barked out. “If you don’t talk to me, then I really can’t help you.”

As truthful and visceral as this was, Gavin really didn’t want to have to go through this stupid ordeal. However, knowing he’d already shared a lot of personal information with Hank without really suffering overly ill effects, his trust in the older man shot up a bit as he nodded and braced himself.

Fingers drumming steadily on the table, Gavin watched as Shinobi and Sumo finished their meal and began grooming each other, now. Sumo made sure to clean behind Shinobi’s small, pointy ears, while the tiny feline purred and ran his rough, pink tongue over Sumo’s chest.

Clearing his throat again, Hank managed to capture Gavin’s attention once more while he still waited patiently for the explanations that would hopefully soon roll out of Gavin’s mouth.

No longer wanting to drag it out so as to make himself suffer, Gavin held a hand over his burning eyes and croaked out, “Okay, so I basically took your advice and apologized to Nines for punching him and leaving him stranded in the mall parking lot.” Taking a quick breath, he continued, face still hidden and shielded by his own hand.

“Like, I a-apologized and I tried t-talking to him as a friend, b-but then stuff g-got weird…” Hoping that would suffice, Gavin lowered his hand from covering his eyes just to check on Hank’s current facial expression.

Evidently, the Lieutenant was nothing short of absolutely confused. Shaking his head lightly, he said, “Go on, Gavin; ‘weird’ can literally mean _anything_. You’re gonna have to be more specific.”

Specificity was something he was more than used to answering and being faced with in his line of work as a detective. However, when it came to his private life, specifics were avoided like the damn plague.

Bashfully, Gavin tapped one hand on his knee, and another on his chest. It was a gesture and motion for the intent to steady the wild thrumming of the muscle currently throbbing a mile a minute in his chest.

Gulping down a few mouthfuls of air, he silently prayed that Hank wouldn’t throw a damn fit.

Pressing his hands together to contain his increasing anxiety, Gavin pushed out in a deliberately gentle tone, “I…we were chatting, and basically, things k-kinda got o-out of hand…” Right away, his own sex-starved, lusty thoughts supplied the memory of his conversation with Nines, and he felt that technically, things had kind of been _in hand_…Gavin nearly blushed at his own perverted thoughts running amok.

Hank, on the other hand, seemed slightly confused, still, but his mind was working on ‘solving’ bits and pieces of the mystery Gavin was slowly unraveling.

Rubbing his nose for a moment, Hank asked, “Out of hand?”

Gavin hated it when people asked questions based on often repeating information he’d already given. Didn’t anyone understand a thing or two about implications, subtlety, and the ‘fine social art’ on taking a hint?

…..

No, perhaps Hank didn’t get it.

Shifting uncomfortably in his seat, Gavin truly felt ‘cornered’ and mildly suffocated even though Hank hadn’t said or done anything menacing or threatening to him. Implications seemed to be enough, though.

Fessing up, he painfully droned on, “Basically, I…l-like, we got excited and we…” He stared in a blatantly obvious manner between his own legs.

Looking down there as well for a nanosecond, Hank gruffly breathed, “Yeah, and?”

…..

He _really _didn’t understand, and how it came to be that Hank Anderson was this dense truly scared Gavin.

Not really wanting to be blunt or rude, the detective tried once more. With utmost amounts of anguish marring his facial features, Gavin tried, “We…had…phone…sex?”

…..

Hank let out a long, sad sigh as he wheezed with half closed eyes, “Frivolous…Gavin, truly a show of fuckin’ frivolity right there.”

Frowning, Gavin tilted his head, “What does ‘frivolity’ mean?”

Holding a hand up mimicking the stop for pedestrians symbol on traffic lights and signals, Hank lethargically and very slowly closed his eyes, brows furrowed as he grunted, “Gavin, I get it; you and Nines were…” Shivering, he interrupted himself as he opened his eyes marginally and coughed on broken notes, “You were…acting like a bunch of befuddled teenagers going through puberty, I get it. Nothing really wrong with that, but—”

“Do you _have_ to be so crude about it? Jesus!!” Not really wanting to ‘be here’ and be engaged in the conversation, Gavin turned his neck to the side and chose instead to stare out the kitchen windows at the whiteness outside.

Shaking his head in disappointment, Hank sighed, “I told you to be Nines’ friend, Gavin; not engage in ma-mast…yeah, _that_ shit with him when you obviously are both _not yet_ prepared to be in that type of a relationship, because you yourself especially…”

As Hank droned on and on, a part of Gavin’s brain just shut off to the words. Soon, he found he wasn’t even really listening to Hank as he just continued to gaze out the windows of the kitchen. He knew he should’ve been listening to what Hank had to say, especially considering how he was taking his time and staying in his place like a guest, but he just zoned out completely. It was a familiar defense mechanism when someone either lectured him on things he didn’t want to hear, or it happened whenever he was faced with an uncomfortable truth. His brain and imagination created a schism between the present situation, and his future dreams looming large.

Enchanted by the sight of the thick flakes swirling in the chilly air outside, Gavin saw the odd streetlights and car lights standing and passing by sentinel in the background. Hank went on, but Gavin paused in his inner musings with his face lifted, inhaling the crisp air, taking in the almost magical scene. He missed the snowy Christmas times of his school days; there was just something about Christmas and snow that went together in his mind. In spite of everything else, things looked…perfect.

Eventually, noticing that Gavin wasn’t listening, Hank sighed as he threw his hands in the air and bemoaned deeply, “Aaand just like that, I’ve lost you. Well done.”

Smiling fondly, Gavin continued to look out the window almost longingly, and as he did, his smile grew wider.

Not letting go just yet due to the ‘progress’, Hank tapped Gavin’s arm, which rested lazily on top of the kitchen table. “Gavin? You hear a word I said?”

Only Sumo’s loud yawning and Shinobi’s soft mewls were Hank’s replies. The small feline had thoroughly enjoyed consuming his meal and bath. He’d then resorted to settling himself on top of Sumo’s large back when the dog lay himself down on the carpeted floor of the hallway for an afternoon nap.

In hardly any time at all, Sumo’s tremulous snoring emanated from just down the hall behind the kitchen and living room, and Hank threw the pair of animals an incredulous look.

“Eat and sleep, eat and sleep,” he grunted as he scratched an arm softly, “that’s all those two clowns ever do.” Ending one portion of his rant, he fleeted to another as he glared away at his pets in disdain.

“When you first brought Shinobi over, I thought his youth would inspire and spark more energy in Sumo! You know? Get ‘em to act more like a puppy or somethin’, but nah, I can see that Sumo’s rubbed off on Shinobi; it’s like that cat’s ancient, now, and he’s ever so damn lazy.”

His smile covering his entire face, now, Gavin almost let out a tiny chuckle, unrestrained as he listened to Sumo’s snores, Shinobi’s light purrs of sheer satisfaction and delight, and the wind coolly blowing outside the house.

Hank soon found himself smiling as well, though he didn’t want to.

~0~0~0~0~0

They fell into a gentle, quiet routine afterwards. Hank went back to work after December 3rd, and up until the 5th, Gavin remained alone inside Hank’s house just doing absolutely nothing. Yes, he was a guest, but he didn’t give himself the free right and permission to snoop about in Hank’s house or touch any of his personal items and belongings. However, the least he felt he could do to return Hank’s kindness was to make sure he didn’t create much of a mess, and if he did, he cleaned it swiftly.

Gavin soon turned into something of a ‘housemaid’ for Hank Anderson; cleaning all throughout the house, feeding Shinobi and Sumo, bathing them, taking Sumo out for walks, shoveling Hank’s driveway, sorting out the recycling, trash, and compost. His days consisted of dusting, cooking, sorting and organizing Hank’s fridge and freezer, and making sure everything else was in proper order.

However, as nice and as generous as that all happened to be, by December 5th, Gavin was bored. He enjoyed helping Hank wherever he could, but after having dusted every corner and inch of the house, mopping the floors, and doing his own laundry for the second time, he’d run out of options and chores.

It was only at the behest of Hank that Gavin woke up on Thursday, December 6th and had been more or less ‘booted’ and launched from his older friend’s home for the purposes of getting fresh air and taking a walk.

“A change of scenery is good, Gavin,” the old, wise Lieutenant had grumbled out to him as he’d headed out the door and right up to his car while munching on still warm toast. “Go out to town for a bit if you want, but make sure Sumo and Shinobi are fed first!!” And with that, he was gone, and Gavin was left to his personal devices and choices.

For the first two hours after Hank had left, Gavin moped about and wallowed in his own self-pitying misery. Watching Sumo and Shinobi play around and chase each other about the house was also getting quite tedious, so Gavin did what Hank instructed. Feeding the animals first, he then let Sumo out into the cold to do his business. Once the large animal bounded back into the house and curled himself right up next to a napping Shinobi in Sumo’s dog basket, Gavin felt the same pangs of boredom and emptiness seeping into his system once again.

It slammed and riveted into him, and over time, it morphed into fear.

What was he afraid of???

…..

_Loneliness…_

_“Alone is good, Nines…” _

Nearly vomiting at remembrance of his own words spoken earlier, Gavin headed to change into something warm. His mind was made up right there: it was better to go out and get some fresh air. Sitting inside all day long would not only enable him to develop a sense of ‘cabin fever’, but he was also ruminating and pondering on subjects and topics that genuinely made him feel uncomfortable…better to avoid altogether.

Glancing once more at Sumo and Shinobi napping, he headed out before he changed his mind.

It was beyond cold outside, but it was crisp and refreshing, just like Hank said it would be. The cold wind blowing by slapped into his cheeks, freezing them up from top to bottom. The tip of his nose ached as he inhaled nothing but cold, dry air. Soon, his skin was burning-though not from the warmth; but from the brutal, unforgiving coldness. It made his eyes sting, but it hurt and was too much of a great feat to even blink. His eyelids felt as though they weighed a ton!!

Although his clothes keep his torso warm, a lot of unnecessary things happened to make his day rather unpleasant. He was barely halfway down the street, when a large truck zoomed by, far too close to the curb for Gavin’s liking. Since it’d rained in the early hours of the morning, the snow that was blanketing the grounds had turned to brown-grey slush.

Gavin had been in the middle of enjoying the various Christmas lights and decorations on full and proud display throughout the street, but it seemed the truck didn’t want to allow him to enjoy the sights to the fullest extent. It drove right by him in a flash, splashing cold snow-mud on his boots, and the charm was gone, just like that. Grimacing once he got over the initial shock, Gavin shook the muck from his pant legs and set out across the quiet street, making his way towards downtown.

Suspecting a lot of activity in the busy, hustle and bustle at the heart of the city, Gavin headed quickly for the first place his eyes landed on. When the wind ceased blowing so harshly, he inhaled a deep breath and saw a bar he hadn’t ever been to yet.

It would do; he could use a drink right about now.

The pub was deliciously warm and crowded when he pushed through the door, the fragrances of apple and pumpkin pie heavily permeating the air. Ale and mulled pumpkin juice contrasted and provided a spicy counterpoint to the thick smell of cigar and smoke. Several people looked up and nodded in a welcoming manner at him as he passed. Friendly folks! Returning their greetings with a smile and a nod, Gavin felt rather awkward after not having been in a bar for a few months. Still, he didn’t pause. He was late as it was, and he’d already steeled himself for the inevitable fact that there weren’t going to be any booths or seats left for him.

Checking the bar thoroughly with his eyes alone, Gavin confirmed that it was true; he couldn’t sit or stay here.

Stepping out through the back door, he waved his hand negligently at a few bartenders calling out to him as he passed through. When he was back outside again, the wind picked up. Gavin could hear the grinding of feet and wet tires along pavement and ice. Citizens milled and fluttered about, window shopping, getting exercise, and exposing themselves to fresh air as well. Gavin avoided eye contact with anyone who passed him by as he strode along the busy streets briskly. A breeze tossed an eddy of powdery snowflakes into his face, and he flipped his jacket collar up around his chin.

Glancing up at a few windows, he saw TVs blaring inside shops and restaurants notifying everyone of precisely when the Santa Claus Parade would be happening…

Detroit City wasn’t often a wondrous place at any time, but as Christmas approached, it truly seemed enchanted. This year, majority of denizens seemed to have taken up an almost ‘old fashioned’ theme and style of décor. The windows and sides of buildings were all alight with flickering torches and colored lanterns, brilliant with assorted eye-popping displays. Androids and humans walked side-by-side, hand-in-hand, laughing, crying out in glee, singing songs, and having the time of their lives. The dark days of the Android Revolution were long forgotten, but for the slightly pessimistic detective, how it could be that anyone who had seen what a sad and grey place Detroit had become could not help but make comparisons. Its pre-war exuberance was back, tenfold, and it always made Gavin smile, especially when he came within sight of_ Mad Dog Gaming_, a little game shop that his parents had often taken him to every month or so. A mad riot of color even during the war, now, it was nothing more than a child’s storybook run amok.

He pushed through the bright red doors, dodging two young boys who ran past shooting some sort of spark guns at one another and ducked around a gaggle of pre-teen girls who were gathered near the hot pink, ‘android unicorns and elf’ toys on display. One of them caught sight of him, her eyes widening comically, and she elbowed her friend.

Gavin rolled his eyes when he brushed past the girls and heard one of them whispering out, “He’s kinda hot!!”

“Eeeewww!” her friend shrieked in return. “He’s like, my dad’s age!!”

Wounded by what he heard, Gavin ground his teeth over each other as his body stiffened almost involuntarily. How fucking rude. Where his day had once been not so bad, now, upon hearing that comment, he felt like dog shit. He didn’t need to be reminded of his own damn age and looks, and his self-confidence fell into the toilet as he heard the girls giggling impishly.

Was he really _that_ old already?!

Realizing he’d been searching for a mirror before he himself took notice of it, Gavin felt his heart fluttering while he imagined in his mind just what his current state of appearance happened to be.

Was he as disheveled as he suspected? Was his hair sweaty, matted, greasy? Were his cheeks pink? Gaunt? Were there deep-sunken bags under his eyes?! Was his skin wrinkly?!

…..

No, there wasn’t a mirror on the first floor of the shop, from what he was able to recollect. As such, Gavin began making his way towards the second floor.

The second floor was filled with more merchandise, most of it of far less interesting to the younger children. A lot of older teenagers and college-age people hung around the shop’s second level. A small coffee shop had been added into the establishment, Gavin noticed. While the older groups hung around there, the slightly younger ones peeked around shelves and display cases for goodies. The games and toys were now reserved to the vast main floor; the second floor was for stealth and tracking merchandise, as well as some rather advanced consoles and video game sets.

Checking them all out for a quick moment only because his eyes happened to see them, he returned to his quest for a mirror…where was it?!?

Speeding by a group of teenagers sitting and lounging about on beany chairs, the nervous detective nearly missed a few steps, and he tripped over his own feet due to walking so quickly. Though he didn’t fall to the floor as he’d feared, he sure as hell made a fool out of himself. The teenagers and older college-age adolescents snickered at him, but as he hung his head down and blushed through his mortification, he made his way past them towards the back of the shop.

He found no mirror, to his horror. It was gone. In its place above the wall it used to once hang from, Gavin found a large window to the outside world.

What the hell!?

Disappointed beyond imagination, he thought about punching right through it in anger. Why was it here?! It had no right to be here!! What was it doing on this wall instead of sporting the fucking mirror?!?

Shaking in bouts of uncontrollable rage, Gavin steadied his breathing as he noticed he was fogging up the glass pretty heavily. It covered the entire window, practically, and its dewy essence made Gavin feel kind of gross.

Reaching out with both hands, he hissed when his warm skin pressed against the icy cold there, and he rubbed hurriedly. It had to go! It was going to disappear!!

Wiping and rubbing quickly, he leaned in closer and closer until his forehead touched the glass. He felt his mind throbbing and brain aching from the coldness that seeped into his head, but he didn’t stop his hand motions or breaths.

Squinting as he took a moment, Gavin looked outside for the longest time, just watching quotidian traffic speed by. The world was unaffected, but he was having a small panic attack as he longed to take a better, clearer look at himself. But it was impossible when the glass was so foggy…he only saw distorted things.

…..

They moved…

What was he seeing?!

Whatever it was, it drew Gavin further and deeper into the window. He didn’t care about the cold; he was seeing himself, finally.

As clear as day, he saw an eight-year-old version of himself running around in the exact same store, and it was unmistakably uncanny, and as real as anything he’d ever witnessed before.

Why, he could even hear his own laughter ringing in his ears…strange, even the laughs that escaped him sounded far more innocent…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Merry Christmas Eve!🍷🎄🤶🎅  
P.S. 'Shinobi' is an AWESOME name for Hank's kitten! 💗💞


	36. A Father’s Son

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I told Father Owl I didn’t want to keep going on here, I told him if the harassment continued, he could deal with it all he wanted. Apparently, there’s issues with Wattpad and some people not being able to find me there (or otherwise people preferring A03’s platform, I don’t know), so this is Father Owl’s doing, the little fucking cunt, because I kept telling him I didn’t want to do it so whatever the fuck happens he can deal with.

_Short legs ran through the warm, cozy shop. Chipper, innocent laughter trailed after him and sweetened the ambiance as other customers and shoppers smiled once they caught sight of him. He climbed the second staircase at the back of the crowded game shop floor, up to the door that led to a world of happiness at the center of Gavin’s imagination and heart._

_All smiles, he pushed through the doors, the distinct smell of popcorn and cotton candy slamming into his nostrils at once. _

_A tall, jovial Santa Claus standing close to the door waved at him merrily. “Hello little boy!!” after waving auspiciously at Gavin, he dug into a large, brown leather bag that was supposed to be his sack full of toys and treats. Knowing that he was in for a real surprise, Gavin could hardly contain his excitement, and he began bouncing up and down with his arms outstretched. _

_The Santa’s eyes twinkled as he chuckled out deeply, “My, my!! You’re already so happy, young boy!!” _

_“My gift!” Gavin cried out, and just before he could leap up into the air to grab at the leather bag, a large hand slammed down powerfully over his shoulder. _

_Effectively held down at once, Gavin stood frozen stiff. Eyes shifting to the right, he took a small peek at the large hand, and he recognized the owner. _

_“Dad?”_

_His dark hair blowing in the potent burst of air from the heaters, eyes somehow both exhausted, yet holding scrutiny within their depths, and mouth set in a thin, pursed line, Felix Reed stared down at his son. Not yet removing the hand upon Gavin’s shoulder, the Reed patriarch didn’t seem to move for a long time. The air around him grew stale all too quickly, and an almost unpleasant aura wove about him before it affected Gavin and the Santa Claus. _

_The blissful actor stared once at Gavin, and then at Felix. All too quickly, he coughed out, “Ho-ho-ho! Meerrryyy Christmaaaas!!” _

_Not returning the holiday cheer, Felix barely nodded. While still staring at the Santa, he spoke out to his son. “I told you to stay by my side, Gavin, and what did you do?” Not allowing the boy to answer, he continued softly, “You bolted up the steps and didn’t even bother answering me as I called after you.” _

_Sensing something rather awkward and unpleasant about the situation, the Santa actor reached over his thick, dark belt buckle, where a few silver and golden bells hung. Ringing them playfully, he sang out, “The boy deserves a gift!!”_

_“Oh really?” Felix-still polite sounding-drawled out as his eyebrows rose gracefully on his face, “think you know my son that well, huh?” His hands jammed into the pockets of his long black wool coat; the very coat that Carrie had given him on last year’s Christmas. The older Reed’s face turned impassive, but his eyes reflected both the light and heat of the luminescent decorations about in the store._

_Things really turned sour, from there on._

_Wincing, Gavin still eyed his gift, which the Santa was holding curled in a black gloved hand. Nodding at it while still reminding himself not to leap up or forward in excitement when his father had already given him a warning, Gavin only whimpered. He felt so small, hopeless, and childish, but he really wanted his gift…_

_His father sniffed, and then gruffly barked out, “Come on, Gavin; we only have an hour left before your mother will start to worry.”_

_That was it; what father said, goes, as his mother had often told him._

_Hanging his head down sadly now that he knew he couldn’t obtain his gift, Gavin nodded. Only turning away from the Santa when he heard his father shifting backwards, he missed the sad smile followed by a genuine look of concern the Santa actor tossed his way._

_Felix stood back tall and proud, and Gavin moved out of the room to head towards the steps leading back down while his father studied him with watchful eyes. He stood that way until he heard his son’s tiny footsteps hurry past, and he looked over his shoulder to watch the Santa actor trudge away._

_As Gavin obediently stood and waited for his father to walk him down the steps, he saw plenty of children running around flying tiny airplane models and drones in the store. He really wanted to check them out, but his father wouldn’t let him!! _

_Pressing a hand in the center of his son’s back, Felix sighed tiredly, “Let’s move it, Gavin; I have a client to meet up with, and then we have to get going.”_

_So they began their descent. _

_Along the way, Gavin saw amazing sights. Unable to help the gasp that suddenly spilled forth from his mouth, he felt delighted when rows of colored lights sprang into view as they were slowly being lit around each of the dozens of windows outside. Across the steep roofline of the building next door visible through windows, Gavin could see dancing people having the time of their lives. More pretty lights wrapped around the banisters of the wrought iron railings leading up to the front door of the shop, and now that it was getting darker, the lights automatically buzzed on. _

_“Woooah!” Gavin cried out, “dad, can we stay maybe a bit longer?”_

_Rubbing his forehead as soon as they walked down to the first level of the shop, Felix held Gavin back as he loomed over him. “No, Gavin,” straightening his son’s scarf, he then dug into his own pockets. Withdrawing from them two blue mittens and a blue hat, he fit them over Gavin’s hands and head. “We’re leaving,” his father reiterated, this time more roughly, “and I don’t want to stand here all day arguing with you.”_

_The scarf was a bit too tight around his neck, but he didn’t say anything. He allowed his father to press it up protectively over his nose while the doors of the shop opened. Making sure his son’s hand was held tightly in his own, Felix Reed led the way back out into the cold, wintery world._

_As they walked together on the sidewalks, Gavin enjoyed how his boots crunched the salt that had been sprayed there earlier to remove dangerous black ice so people could walk safely. Playfully, he tossed the salt along with his boots, watching in amusement as the round beads skipped ahead a few feet before slowing down and waiting for him to kick again. _

_“Gavin, slow down a bit,” his father warned him, and obediently, the young boy ceased playing around. _

_Before he grew bored, he stared around up in the sky at large apartment buildings and expensive, fancy houses past the shops. Candles burst into brilliant flame in each darkened window outside, until the entirety of the façade of the old townhouses, apartment buildings, and streets glowed with light._

_Gavin wanted to stay out more! He wished he had his camera with him, but there was no sense in taking photos. His father was pushing him down the sidewalk, and just when the impatient child had wanted to inquire where they were headed to, Gavin saw it._

_Even though it was almost pitch dark outside due to the days being short and nightfall stretching on for too long too soon, Gavin saw the clear outline of a woman not matching that of his mother waving at them. _

_A smile was instantly on his father’s face. “Aha!” he cried out in joy, “there they are!”_

_“They?” His question hadn’t been heard; his father let go of his hand, and he paced too quickly for Gavin’s shorter legs to catch up to so suddenly._

_“Dad! Wait for me!!”_

_Dad…_

_“Keep up, Gavin!!” _

_The wind was blowing into his eyes, and he blinked back tears as he held his arm out for his father. “Waaaait!!!” _

_Speeding up as much as he could, Gavin ran and ran and ran forward. His boots pounded into the snow, and more of the stuff was falling from the sky, blanketing his view terribly. _

_As he drew closer and closer, he blinked one more time, and he saw that the woman wasn’t alone…_

Dad…

“Sir? Are you alright?”

Gavin blinked again, and as he remained at the window glaring angrily into the foggy glass, he saw the shadowy figure standing slightly next to himself.

Turning, he grunted when he saw the same two teenage girls who’d regarded him earlier that same day. They peered curiously at him, though the one who’d stated he was old seemed more amused in a sadistic way. Her friend eyed him carefully, chewing on her lip gloss covered lip for a moment.

Gavin mumbled, “What time is it?”

“Uhh…” they both checked their phones, “like, almost five.”

“Fuck,” he was amazed at how gravelly his voice sounded, and just how dry his throat was. It seemed like a phase one went through after not having spoken in weeks or months…

Watching him carefully as he reached into his own pockets for his phone, Gavin ignored the eyes of the teenage girls. He needed to know if Hank had texted him, first and foremost. He didn’t want to admit it to anyone, but he hadn’t lost this much time before in memory land. It hadn’t even been noon when he first walked into the store, and now, it was almost five in the evening???

Something was wrong…well, a _lot_ was incredibly wrong, but he needed to leave before he thought about putting the infernal pieces together. There was no conceivable way he could think in such a crowded, noisy, busy, warm place.

As he spun around a few times, just trying to get a new sense of direction, apparently, he was a rather goofy sight for the teenage girls. The one who’d sadistically smirked at him resorted to flushing and giggling in the collar of her green jacket. Her raven-haired friend elbowed her roughly, scowling at her while Gavin fumbled around inside his pockets.

“Where’s my damn—” Not a second later, his phone buzzed, right on cue.

Leaping into the air like he’d been electrocuted, Gavin’s antics managed to make the meaner of the two girls lose herself in a fit of giggles. Her friend tried to approach Gavin, but the confused, weary detective was already moving away from them as he withdrew his phone from his pocket.

Behind him, the mean girl whispered icily to her friend while turning her nose up at Gavin, “Get away from him! He’s crazy!”

“I just want to know if he’s okay!”

“Pfft, bullshit,” came her friend’s snappy retort, “you just think he’s ‘hot’ for some fucked up reason. Girl, you have a shitty taste in men.”

Unlocking his phone screen, Gavin saw something that truly worried and terrified him. It scared the raw daylights out of him, and for a moment, he wondered if this all were a horrible nightmare. Wanting to test it out, he turned around, and he waved his hand in front of the girls’ faces.

Not really startled, they hissed and moved away from him.

“What the hell!?”

Blushing, Gavin coughed, “S-sorry, I just…um…” Eyes darting nervously, he leaned into the raven-haired girl, and he gently asked, “Err, this is all happening now, right?” When he saw her jaw drop in shock, he quickly pushed out, “I mean…what day is it?”

Squinting at him, the dark-haired young female spat, “The sixth of December, dude! What the fuck?”

Her friend sighed, “I think he’s either high or retarded.”

That was when Gavin decided he’d had enough of their ‘conversation’. He heard them whispering and muttering more cruel, judgmental things about him, but he really couldn’t be bothered to care; he had other things to attend to, and a rather urgent pressing matter…

He had received seven missed call notifications from his therapist, and one from Captain Fowler.

~0~0~0~0~0

_“Gavin, it’s Dr. Rivera, could you please give me a call as soon as you’ve heard this message? It’s really urgent. Thank you.”_

_“Hey Gavin, Dr. Rivera again. Just wondering if my last message came through. Let me know, thanks.”_

_“Gavin, I’m hoping you’re not set on ignoring me, but if you could try to reach out and give me a call, I would be very happy to chat with you regarding something highly important. Thank you.”_

_“I hope you’re well, Gavin. I’m getting rather concerned. My secretary informed me that you haven’t bothered returning any of my calls. I understand why, but I need you to also understand that you were once my patient. Even though you aren’t now, that doesn’t mean I’m not concerned about you. You need to call me back; I can’t stress this enough. Hope you’re well. Take care.”_

_“Christ, Gavin! I know you’re receiving these! You’re just ignoring me, which is fine, but I’m going to let you know that the only reason I’ve been chasing after you for so long is because your own mother is worried about you, Gavin! You heard me! Your mother’s been constantly calling my office every other day, and she’s been begging me desperately to invite you back into group therapy! She is super worried, Gavin. You’re all alone there, and from what your mother told me, your fiancé isn’t supportive! This is bad news, Gavin, and I want you to know that you don’t have to go through this alone! Group therapy and ‘Men’s Talk’ group is offered every—”_

Gavin stopped listening to that message left by his therapist straight away. Hurriedly, he accessed his inbox for his voicemail, and one-by-one, he deleted all the messages his therapist had left for him. He was beyond furious, now. Why the hell was this idiot of a man calling?!? He was a grown adult, and his mother should’ve ceased interfering in his life years ago!!!!

Lips curling back in anger as he walked through the gentle snowfall around the city, he was making his way back to Hank’s when he finished with deleting all the messages. Irate now, he decided he was going to have a word with his mother.

Trying to remain calm, Gavin listened to the rings that echoed in his ears as he pulled his jacket’s hood over his wet hair when he’d had enough of the snowflakes falling into his hair and getting melted there. He was cold enough already, and he couldn’t stand being drenched anymore.

Finally, his mother picked up on the fifth ring.

“Gavin,” came her rough voice, followed by a quick cough, “what the hell do you want?”

Sneering, he growled viciously, “Shouldn’t I be the one asking _you_ that?!”

Pausing for a moment, she grunted, “About time you listened to those messages Dr. Rivera sent you. How long do you think you can go on ignoring everyone, hmm?”

Pointing at the phone against his ear, he snapped irritably, “Listen here, I’m almost forty-god-damn-years-old, and that means—”

Loud coughing broke into his ears, and Carrie coughed for a minute straight. As angry as Gavin had been, his sense of irritation and rage dampened considerably when he listened to just how violently his mother was coughing. She sounded like she was in severe pain, and as she wheezed and groaned through her coughing fit, she gagged, and then the phone was held away from her. Gavin heard rustling and moving, followed by more coughing, though it sounded far away.

Now, his mind was flooded with concern, and as his mind raced through all sorts of horribly dark imaginings of what was going on with his mother, all he could do was stop walking and cry out to her.

“Mom?! Mom?!?! What’s happening?! MOM!! Talk to me!!”

There was an incredibly painful, difficult silence to listen to and bear. Standing knee-deep in snow as it continuously fell, Gavin’s heart was racing. Opening his mouth to pant when he could no longer contain his nervous breathing, Gavin felt his own face perspiring when his foggy, steamy breaths blew out before himself. He felt like some creepy, fire-breathing dragon about to attack, and as he waited and waited, he finally heard his mother shifting to grab her phone.

Coughing a few more times, she growled at him, “I’m fine, I’m fine, just relax.”

Gavin’s eyebrows shot up vigorously. “Fine?!? FINE?! What was fuckin’ _fine_ about that shit?!”

“Gavin—”

“It sounded like you were fuckin’ dying—” at once, his words got caught in his throat. His eyes involuntarily flooded with tears, they burned and stung, and there was an uncomfortable lump in his throat. He couldn’t even swallow it down. He supposed it may have been his heart leaping in his chest, but he couldn’t do anything about it as he stood there in the snow.

Odd…he didn’t really feel cold anymore…

“M-mom?” He hated how he’d stammered this out like a little baby, but he really was frightened after what he’d heard.

She sighed, “Gavin, you _have_ to get a hold of yourself and go back to therapy.”

Shrugging her off, his voice returned to a little more in control. “I’m fine,” he lied, “I don’t need anyone’s help, especially that stupid quack of a Doctor!”

Clearing her throat for a second, Carrie nearly had her son worried again that she was going to begin coughing violently, however, she seemed in control of her own coughing as she said softly, “Gavin, it doesn’t matter how old you are, and it doesn’t matter how angry you want to get at me…you’ll _always_ be my little baby boy, and I’m not gonna stop caring about you. Do you hear me?”

This time, something wet and warm slid down from his eyes over his cheeks. The tears dribbled down, and he sniffed as they landed down into the snow. Despite feeling weak and so small, he growled brokenly, “You never gave a shit before, so why do you care now? Hmm? Is it suddenly convenient to care??”

…..

Realizing he’d said too much and pushed too far as the wind howled almost angrily at him, Gavin really wished he could’ve had the power to take his words back. Some things really didn’t need to be said, and he’d gone way too far without thinking. He’d always been an impulsive man, and he knew his mother meant well. Why couldn’t he have just shut his damn mouth and allowed her to say whatever she’d wanted to say?? Why was someone reaching out and caring for him always such an ill-received notion to him?? What was wrong with him!?

Perhaps he really needed to take up therapy again….

…Perhaps, but his ego wouldn’t allow it. It couldn’t accept it…

With a deep sigh that sounded more like it hurt, Carrie grumbled under her breath, “Fuck it. I tried.”

“Mom?” Not even realizing he’d spoken out again, he flinched like she’d somehow be able to reach through the phone and slap him.

What a silly notion.

“I gotta go, Gavin.” She repressed a few more coughs, but Gavin could hear them panging and thrumming in her chest and throat as she wheezed, “Go to therapy, don’t go; it makes no difference because you’re right; you’re an adult and I can’t force you…but…” Inhaling sharply, she cleared her throat again and emitted a strained sound that was rather difficult for Gavin to listen to. He’d never heard something akin to this from her, but he listened quietly and patiently while a few cars drove by.

The world would never stop spinning for him…

“Maybe ask your fiancé to go with you,” she suggested finally. “There _is_ after all a ‘Men’s Group Talk’, and anyone is welcome. If he’s as loving as you once tried to force me to believe…well…”

Gavin nodded as he snapped dryly, “I got it.”

“Talk to you around Christmas, Gavin.”

“Yeah…you too, mom.”

Simultaneously, they hung up.

Oddly enough, Gavin felt like he was the only one with the feeling of a hole being burnt into his heart at the time.

Reluctantly, he continued the rest of the journey back to Hank’s home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have nothing to say to all this, really. Going to take a few hits off my vape till later. 
> 
> Enjoy your New Year, everyone. Stay safe.


	37. A Special Thank You

😮😮😵😵😵😱😱😱😱

Oh. My. Dear. Goodness!!!

I can certainly say that it takes a LOT to shock and or surprise me, but when I am drawn to that point, it’s very rare I’m surprised in a ‘good’ way!! Guess what, though? In spite of all the weird stuff that’s been going on with me, throughout it all, I realized I DO have kind people supporting me and helping me grow as a content provider. I’ve said it before, but I must emphasize that the generosity and good will of a lot of people motivates me BIG time.

Thanks to reader: Ye_Olde_Taffer, I am smiling my crazy arse off and have been for HOURS. This magnificent, beautiful person did an equally magnificent, beautiful art piece based off Nines’ Goth look in this fic!! Seriously, when I saw the art, my jaw just fell, and then I immediately showed it to anyone who knows me in real life and knows I write fanfiction. Needless to say, can you imagine their reactions?!👀😮🙏🤘

We’re all MAD here, but Mad as Hatters!!!!😱😱😱👀

Seriously, this is by far one of the BEST and most FAVORITE depictions of Nines I have received yet. I love ANY piece my readers draw, of course, but I swear, this sits in my heart nicely. I have a soft spot for this already, so much that I’m downloading it onto my personal computer!! I love the way Ye_Olde_Taffer captured the details I described in terms of Nines’ clothes, his hair, and even his facial expressions. I honestly have mad respect for you, friend, and I hope you can keep on doing art (not just of my work) but art in general because I know you have a very unique talent for it.

Please, if everyone reading could go and spread a kind word of praise or even drop a kudos for Ye_Olde_Taffer, I’d appreciate it like a cool New Year’s gift. Art deserves a lot of praise and love, especially since a lot of artists do things and create their craft from passion, emotions, and interest. It can be a thankless job at times, but I can safely say that this work isn’t going thankless!!

Here are links to Ye_Olde_Taffer’s page, and they’re an author themselves, so please do them the kindness they did for me and bless them!!!

Their A03 page containing the artwork itself: <https://archiveofourown.org/works/22042606>

And their profile containing another awesome story they did! <https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ye_Olde_Taffer/pseuds/Ye_Olde_Taffer>

Thank you so much once again, friend! You’re a true gem!☺🎁🎀⛄⛄💓🎈

You also deserve a bow! 


	38. Justice is Blind

On Friday the 7th of December, Gavin was ordered by Captain Fowler to come to the DPD at 2 p.m. for a mediation meeting, as well as follow-up report for the violent incident he’d gone through. According to the voicemail, a representative from the Human Rights office, the head of HR, a member from the Employee Labor Relations Unit, as well as Captain Fowler himself would be present for the meeting to file the complaint and investigate into it.

Dispute resolution sucked.

Hank drove himself and Gavin to the DPD before noon, and he dropped Gavin off at the entrance to the HR building before going to his own workstation.

Great. Gavin was all alone, now.

Unfortunately, this hadn’t been the first and only time he’d been inside this damn building for violence and harassment. However, in his younger years, Gavin himself had been the harasser and the aggressor, and now he was the victim. Odd how the tides and tables turned, and he supposed this was a weird form of ‘karma’ and ‘justice’ the universe threw back at him after all the years he’d tormented and bullied people he didn’t particularly like at work.

Well…he thought he deserved it, anyway.

The secretary signed him in and told him to wait outside in the waiting room. Thankfully, he only had to wait three minutes before the secretary led him down the hall and to the second room on the left. The door was partly open, and she knocked on it once before she announced that ‘Detective Reed’ was here.

As Gavin peeked into the room, he saw Captain Fowler, as well as three other people seated patiently. Two of them were women, and only one was a male. The women were slightly younger than Captain Fowler, and one was African American. On her blue business suit lapel, her name tag read: **Lisa Rowe- Human Rights Office Manager**. Right beside her at the rectangular table sat the second woman, a brunette with her hair tied back into a super tight bun. She wore no makeup, but had tanned skin and green eyes. Her name tag read: **Ivanna T**, and she was supposedly from HR. At the far end of the table sat an extremely elderly man in a black business suit and a blue tie matching Captain Fowler’s. There wasn’t a name tag on his person, but Gavin quickly put two and two together, and he knew this man had to be a member from the Employee Labor Relations Unit.

So the whole gang was here after all.

Captain Fowler-as well as the other three individuals in the meeting room-all had tiny laptops sitting before themselves; no doubt to take notes on whatever it was Gavin was going to say.

Trying not to stress out, Gavin stood awkwardly in the doorway until Captain Fowler hissed, “Sit down, Reed.”

Nodding quickly, Gavin sat down on a chair at the table directly across from the one the people interviewing him were seated at. Shimmying into it, he cleared his throat as he stared at random spots on the table. Aware that he was being awkward as all hell, there wasn’t a lot he could do but wait until he was permitted to talk. He knew how the rules of this game already went, and he didn’t dare break them.

Finally, Lisa Rowe sat back and put on thin-framed glasses. “Detective Reed,” she began in a rather authoritative tone that commanded attention, “how are you today?”

Staring dully at her, Gavin sighed, “Been better?”

Someone snorted, and Gavin supposed it was Fowler.

Lisa’s nose twitched, and she nodded. “I won’t waste much time today. I’m from the Human Rights Office, and I’ll be asking you a few questions-as will my other colleagues.”

Somehow, he figured that all out without explanations.

Nodding, he confirmed, “Okay, that’s fine.”

She didn’t care about his opinion. Sitting up tall, she barked out, “On what day were you allegedly attacked?”

Allegedly?!? Why was this word even spoken and brought up?! He hadn’t been _allegedly_ assaulted; he’d _definitely _been assaulted!

Trying not to burst out in an emotional explosion of unmitigated rage, Gavin grumbled under his breath, “It happened on Thursday, November 22nd.” Would that suffice?!

Immediately, everyone in the room except for Fowler began typing away. This made Gavin nervous, and it was because they were typing steadily for nearly half a minute. Originally, he’d assumed they were going to report exactly whatever came out of his mouth. But why did it take almost a minute to write down: Thursday, November 22nd?

Now, he was suspicious, and he really had to hold back on asking what they were writing. It wasn’t his business…yet it _was_.

“Next question,” Ivanna spoke out this time. “Approximately what time did the attack take place?”

At least she hadn’t prefaced it with ‘alleged’.

“Umm,” he paused, thinking about it before he supplied, “after five-thirty, I think.”

After more typing, the elderly man sitting close to Fowler smiled. He wore glasses, and they seemed quite thick. Squinting at the younger male for a moment, the elderly man in the suit opened his mouth and almost too quietly spoke out, “Detective Reed, we hope you understand that this is a mediation process, as the reports pertaining to workplace harassment and violence have already been filed.”

Gavin stared blankly at the older man before he gruffly clipped out, “Am I being sued?”

Captain Fowler rolled his eyes, but the older man seated next to him answered gently, “Due to the nature of the occurrence, no. It happened on the grounds and premises of the Detroit Police Department building, however, according to our policy, we do not condone or tolerate workplace violence or bullying and harassment of any kind. We are committed to providing a safe and respectful work environment for all staff. Any complaint will be treated seriously, fairly and confidentially. This policy statement applies to all workers and will be reviewed annually, which is why we’re addressing the issue; not the people.”

…It _still_ felt as though he’d been the only one on trial.

Gavin already knew this song and dance. Usually, ‘mediation’ in and of itself wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. However, for himself, and for those who doubted mediation’s effectiveness, Gavin himself personally viewed it as an unsatisfactory “short-term fix” for deep systemic issues. As well, he worried that the mediators here were likely unable to control volatile participants, or to maintain a level playing field. At a minimum, mediation skeptics such as himself argued that the process couldn’t be successfully applied in the contexts of criminal conduct; aggression falling short of criminal acts, and bullies in general with a bad attitude.

Portraying his sense of doubts, he looked quickly at everyone else before he groused, “Well, if it happened here, then that’s something of an issue, right? I mean,” eyeing Fowler deeply, he snapped, “shouldn’t employees feel safe and secure coming into work?”

Fowler coughed immediately, already catching on to Gavin’s raw implications. He seemed nervous, but thankfully for Fowler, the other three members of the meeting were way too focused on Gavin.

Lisa scowled as she typed something quickly before snipping at him snobbishly, “We’re the ones asking the questions, Detective; if you wait until the end, you’re free to ask any questions you may have, alright?”

_Bitch._

Curtly nodding, Gavin didn’t even bother with answering. He didn’t trust his mouth and temper, quite frankly.

Continuing with the interrogation, Ivanna prodded, “Walk us through what happened as you remember it please, Detective. Don’t forget about specific details; it may help with the report and mediation process.”

Obediently, he regaled everything he could remember. He talked about how he was ambushed by Mischa, Luke, and Gary. He told everyone he was dragged into the empty stairwell and alcove there, and as much as he didn’t want to, he went into any vivid detail he could recall. The beatings were talked about, the verbal threats for more incoming violence, the ultimatum Gary had given him in terms of quitting and leaving the DPD; everything. When he was through with his explanation, Gavin felt his entire body sweating and on fire. He’d obviously felt the effects of the experience taking a toll on his system, and he cleared his parched throat.

Fowler nodded at him, “Would you like a glass of water, Reed?”

“Yeah! Would I ever.”

While Captain Fowler walked outside the room-no doubt heading towards a water fountain-to fetch the water, Lisa leaned into Ivanna, and the two women whispered while pointing at their laptops and notes. As they did this, the elderly man whose name Gavin still honestly didn’t know was constantly watching him. His eyes were way too observant; assessing, studying, analyzing…Gavin didn’t like it, but he couldn’t do anything.

As he waited for his water, Lisa finally glanced up at him. While typing away a few more times, she glared at him, and then finally stopped making her notes. Sitting back, she crossed her arms over her chest, and she too seemed to be assessing Gavin.

Ivanna smiled one of the phoniest smiles Gavin had ever seen. In his line of work, it was a smile he himself had often employed, namely for the purposes of trying to ease people and suspects he was interrogating into a false sense of calm and security. Oh, how it sucked to be on the other end of the table…literally and figuratively.

Fluttering her eyelashes at him, Ivanna chirped out on a high-pitched note, “Well, at this point, Detective, as vivid and detailed as your version of the events are, we regret to inform you that it’s now a matter of your word against the three men you had an altercation with.”

Fowler walked in a second later, and he slid Gavin a glass of clear, cold water.

Taking it slowly in his hands, Gavin wheezed dryly, “I don’t…I don’t understand…my word against—”

Removing her glasses from her face, Lisa sneered as she folded them and tucked them into their case. “Detective Reed, I’m sure that someone as talented and skilled in your line of work can understand,” pausing, she threw a sarcastic smirk over at him, then, and Gavin wished nothing more than to be able to wipe it clean off.

Raising her head in vanity and a level of haughtiness Gavin had never seen before, she continued, “The gentlemen who were attacked came forward with crucial evidence, and they reported what happened a lot faster than you did.”

_What…_

This time, Gavin was unable to control himself.

“That’s because Gary’s related to Captain Allen, and he’s _always_ runnin’ around this damn place like the world owes him something!!!”

“Reed!” Fowler slammed a large hand on the table, but Gavin didn’t even jump or flinch. Unaffected, he merely glared at Fowler for interrupting.

Shaking her head, Ivanna sighed, “Nepotism doesn’t play a hand in this, Detective; the policy states that you are to report a violent incident or happenstance as soon as possible after experiencing, witnessing, or being involved in such an incident.”

Holding up a hand, he gruffly hissed on the edge of impatience, “And you mentioned ‘crucial evidence’, what the hell does that mean?”

At once, the women went completely silent, and only the elderly man leaned forward. Almost a few inches away from Gavin, a rather serious look was upon his face, and his eyes darkened menacingly as he growled, “That’s none of your damn business, Detective.”

“I’m afraid it is.”

Everyone turned their heads swiftly upon hearing the new voice. It was thick, deep, supremely masculine, authoritative, and a tad bit on the side of aggressive, at least to Gavin’s ears.

Once his eyes settled on the owner of the voice, his jaw dropped practically down to his chest.

~0~0~0~0~0

It was Nines.

Gavin couldn’t believe it, but there Nines stood clear as day after not having seen Gavin in almost over a full week since he hung up on him.

What was he doing here?!?!

Eyeing him up and down curiously, Gavin saw that Nines had once again donned his shiny, black Doc Martens. He had taken to wearing tight skinny jeans with tears and the threads hanging down from the sides of the legs and in front, though it looked pretty fashionable. Nines wore a black and grey plaid shirt, and he’d just barely rolled the cuffs back to reveal his wrists. His hair looked super clean and dark as always, the bangs swinging to the left side of his forehead while he hung out in the doorway. He seemed to be staring mostly at the elderly man who’d spoken out standoffishly to Gavin.

Waving a hand at him, Fowler beckoned him inside. “You’re a bit late, Nines,” he sighed out wearily, “have a seat.”

Late?! Late??? This was odd news to Gavin, and he stared in confusion at his superior. Hadn’t Fowler claimed that it was only Gavin himself who would be interviewed?! Why was Nines here, then?!?!

Blinking at the tall android, he watched as Nines coolly and collectedly strut over to the chair on his left, and he drew it back while seating himself onto it. Not even staring over at Gavin to regard his presence in the same room, Nines sat with a leg draped over a knee, and his arms were crossed over his chest. He almost grinned straight at Lisa, and the woman dropped her hands away from being draped along her own chest.

Not even bothering to waste time, Ivanna spoke out to Nines, “Your name?”

Nines scoffed, “Captain Fowler already mentioned it.”

Woah…Nines was…Nines was definitely far more aggressive than Gavin remembered, and he swallowed nervously as he stared intently at the android seated next to himself for a few minutes.

“Answer the question, please,” Ivanna hissed thinly, an eye twitching at Nines, which signified her patience was being tested all too quickly.

Pointing at himself, Nines grinned as he supplied, “I’m sure you mean you want to know my model number, so I’ll give in…” Chuckling, he said, “RK900.”

They all typed back on their laptops, and as they did, Gavin took a more in-depth look at Nines. The android looked different, yet he didn’t. While his sense of fashion and style remained punk and gothic, the major difference Gavin had been able to sense right off the bat effortlessly was a dramatic shift in Nines’ personality.

He was more aggressive.

After being a detective for as long as he had, Gavin understood the basics of human behavior and psychology. Seeing Nines’ body posture the way it was, Gavin concluded he was closed off, yet also on the verge of ‘defense’ as he accosted the interviewers. He seemed tense, rigid, and his chest and chin jutted out oddly. Any moment, it appeared he could unleash an attack. Gavin could tell he was trying to make it seem like he was relaxed by kicking a leg up and settling back in the chair, but it wasn’t working if one really knew Nines too well.

Eyes sweeping over Nines’ wrists, Gavin saw a dash of black he nearly missed the first time…black and green?!

Leaning oddly forward, his eyes and body were now angled so he could have a closer look at what he’d seen. After peering deeply and intently at Nines’ left wrist, he could make out the bit of green and black…was it a tattoo?!

Nines had a tattoo?!?!

However, before Gavin could look closer, Nines seemed to sense what he was doing and what he was looking at without even addressing or regarding him. Draping his arm across his stomach wrist down, he made sure his skin was effectively covered, much to Gavin’s chagrin. Not wanting to be caught staring more than he already was, he sat back and cast an angry glare down at the floor.

All typing ceased in the room before the elderly man coughed, and then cried out in hopes of asserting himself and his authority. “RK900, err, I mean, Nines, pardon me.” Flushing, he stared deeply at Nines as he continued, “As I understand it, you were also involved in this physical act of violence, correct?”

Snickering coldly, Nines replied, “I was.”

“Were you also being attacked?”

“No.”

Ivanna leaned forward, “Then what made you brutally beat down three other men?”

This time, Gavin looked up. He didn’t think Nines was going to lie when it came to this matter, and he really was hoping that Nines would come clean with the truth in regards to answering something Gavin himself had even pondered about for so long.

Why?

Blinking slowly, Nines’ eyes shifted ever so slightly down, but it happened so quickly that only Gavin caught it due to staring quite closely at the android. “I just…” he sighed weakly, “…I thought it was the right thing to do.”

Not impressed, Ivanna and the elderly man shook their heads. They took to jotting their notes, and Lisa Rowe barked out her next question. “What you did was assault three unarmed men, Nines. How do you feel about that?”

Almost immediately, Captain Fowler coughed out, “Hold on!! Now,” looking at Nines for a moment, he meekly smiled at Lisa, as if trying to get on her good side. “What Nines does out of work hours is his own concern, Mrs. Rowe! You can’t hold the DPD accountable for—”

She interrupted sternly, “What Nines did, Jeffrey, happened to take place on _your _building’s premises, and he was responsible for injuring these men! What do you have to say about that?!”

Before Fowler could continue, Nines set his leg down, placed both hands on his kneecaps, and his LED light beneath his bangs blinked yellow. Everyone stared at him as he smiled-albeit a tad ruthlessly and puckishly. Once he was sure he had everyone’s attention, he very carefully selected his words.

“I have my exact version of the events, and as of a few seconds ago, I forwarded them and emailed them to you in video and audio format.”

Visibly panicking, the elderly man, Lisa, and Ivanna turned slightly pale, and then they stared down at their laptops.

Nines smiled on. “You say that the men I attacked have bruises and injuries? Well, so did Gavin on that night.” Drumming his fingers over his kneecaps, he drawled out slowly, “I haven’t tampered with this, and if you look carefully, Gary had a knife the entire time on himself that was hidden, so you may want to omit the fact that these men were unarmed…” Snickering again, he added with attitude, “You know, for the sake of fucking clarity.”

Fowler coughed uncontrollably, “Nines!! What the—”

Over his coughing, one of the interviewers had already started to play the footage, and Gavin heard himself screaming to be let go. Gary threatened him, laughed, and then the sounds of Gavin behind held down and kicked violently could be heard.

Ivanna and Lisa looked up at Nines, and the elderly man gasped out, “How did you come across this footage?”

Rolling his eyes, Fowler snapped sardonically, “He’s an android, you idiot! He recorded the whole damn thing!!”

Shaking her head, Lisa muttered, “I…I don’t…I’m sorry, Detective Reed…”

“Yeah, ‘sorry’ is good,” Nines intervened rudely, “but it doesn’t exactly cover for all the bullshit, does it?”

Pointing sharply at him, Ivanna hissed, “You watch your damn mouth!!”

While Gavin continued to gape at Nines in raw shock and awe, the android stood up, and he held his hands down at his sides, evidently still making an effort to hide his tattoo from Gavin. “If I’m not needed anymore, I’m leaving,” he announced, holding his head up high as he called out to Fowler, “if anyone else would like to have a go with me, I invite them to meet me in the gym; no pads, no helmets.” After saying that as proudly as he had, Nines walked right out the door.

Sputtering after him, the elderly man cried out, “W-wait!!”

“Jeffrey!” Lisa hissed poisonously, “this is unprecedented!!”

“Yeah,” the burly man replied as he sat back and shook his head, smiling as he stared out the door after Nines. “That’s our Nines, after all.”

Weakly, Gavin whispered, “Umm, sir? Can I leave?”

“Hmm? Oh, yeah, get the hell out of here, Reed,” Fowler snorted as he waved at him like he was trying to shoo a fly out of the room. “We’ll call you if we need anything else, but now the investigation has taken a new turn and this crap could take weeks to sort out.”

_No shit. _

Standing quickly, Gavin nodded at everyone in the room, but the interviewers were far too busy with watching the footage once again to say anything else.

Good…they were distracted, and that was enough for Gavin.

With a grateful wave thrown in Fowler’s way, he hurriedly tucked his chair in, and rushed to the door, eager to catch up with Nines…wonderful Nines, helpful Nines…

“Good Nines…”

* * *

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!! HURRRRAAAHHHH!!🙏😵😵😱✨🍾💖🍷🎊🎉🎇🎆🧨 May 2020 bring everyone happiness, joy, wealth, success, and absolute stress-free healthy lifestyles!! I truly wish for nothing but the best for everyone, and let's start off this New Year NOT as scared as I am hiding beneath my own insignificant self-perpetuated fears!!! 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nines really came through for Gavin, speaking up on his behalf, defending him, everything. Finally relieved I could've posted this because a lot of people were wondering why Fowler didn't allow Nines to present his memories of the attack.  
Well, right time and place, guys. All good things come when we wait.
> 
> Also, tattoos?!?! Nines?!


	39. Fractured and Tethered

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> YOOOOOO GO CHECK OUT THE DETROIT EVOLUTION TEASER TRAILER GUYS HOLY FUCK  
THIS LOOKS GOOD!  
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-cnZgDGEtBE

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, ya'll wanted to see the tat Nines got? (Points below)

“Nines!!! I love your new look!! Holy Christmas!!”

“Lookin’ good, Nines!!”

“Wowza, Nines! Sweet look you got yourself there!!”

“Looking sharp, Nines!!”

Comments and words of bright praise flew around the DPD as Gavin tore after Nines, the android’s broad back in clear sight. Nines was a super-fast walker, it seemed. Gavin’s lungs burned as he tried speeding up to catch the android, but for every step he took, Nines seemed to effortlessly power walk right on ahead, crossing the distance that two men couldn’t even cover if they tried.

Connor however stood up and stopped Nines right in the nick of time when Gavin felt he was going to pass out from exhaustion and a lack of air pumping into his heart and lungs. Thank goodness for Connor.

The curious RK800 held out a hand with his human skin deactivated before Nines. Gavin had seen them doing this before, as well as the other androids in the precinct. It wasn’t anything new, and usually, Nines always accepted it kindly, exchanging information and interfacing with Connor rapidly. However, today, Nines seemed distant.

Despondently, Nines held his arms back as he gruffly sighed, “Not today, Connor.”

Catching up to them finally, Gavin landed with a hand on Nines’ right shoulder. Keeping his hand there for purchase in case he fell, he panted and wheezed painfully. Righting himself up, he held a hand over his racing heart which felt like it was going to explode right out of his sternum, almost as means to calm the muscle down.

Nodding in a way of greeting at Connor, first, he rasped, “H-hey…”

Connor waved, but Nines quickly shrugged Gavin’s arm off his shoulder. Once again, he took to moving ahead, and Gavin felt his heart crashing and burning.

“Hey!! Wait!” He was aware that people were staring, but Nines quickly solved that problem; he tore through the bullpen, went down the hallway to the left, and kept on walking. Not stopping once, Gavin ran after him, hot on his heels.

“Nines!! Wait a sec!!!” Despite his efforts, the RK900 didn’t seem to want to stop at all. This unnerved Gavin to no end, but he didn’t give up. Forcing his body to bear the burning pain churning about in his chest, Gavin pushed through the discomfort, and he put on one last burst of speed to get to Nines. He almost had him…almost…and then, Nines abruptly turned around.

Gavin slammed right into Nines’ chest on account of not being able to stop himself right on time. Colliding violently with the powerful, tall android, Gavin felt pain searing into his forehead, now. It was a pretty good way to distract from the pain coursing through his heart and lungs, but pain was pain, and it sucked!!

Holding himself back, he groaned as his vision swam. Peering up, he almost saw two of Nines, and his mind reeled from it all. “Nines…” Unable to believe that was his own voice that sounded so weak, Gavin winced.

“Shit,” he panted out as he wiped sweat off his forehead, “I’ve gotta quit smokin’…”

Nines apparently didn’t care for what was going on, and as he stood with his hands held at his sides, he sneered down at Gavin. “I don’t want to talk, Reed,” came his deep warning growl, “leave me alone, alright?”

As he’d been turning around, Gavin’s hand shot out, and he latched onto Nines’ elbow roughly. Yanking the android back to himself, Gavin hissed a salient hiss. “Nines, you ignored me all damn week! What the hell?!”

Not really staring at him, Gavin noticed that Nines was looking in his general direction, but he was doing well to avoid looking _at_ him. He stared off somewhere around Gavin’s ear, and he commented, “I was going about my daily business and routine, Reed, much as you should be doing.”

Shaking his head defiantly, Gavin snapped, “What the hell kind of a dickish reply is that?!” Demanding to know, he grounded out, “Where the fuck were you all this time?! What were you doing?!”

Though he had no business at all, really, Gavin couldn’t help but feel a strange sensation of jealousy and resentment flooding into his brain. Why he felt like this was unbeknownst to him, and rather odd. Rather than assessing that and diving into the possible sources, however, Gavin’s mind wandered over to the possible whereabouts of Nines since their awkward phone call. Too much time had passed, and he had too many questions…

Why was he even asking such questions??? Was he a jealous lover scorned? Was he a possessive spouse? No…as far as all things were concerned, Nines wasn’t obligated to tell Gavin anything. Gavin had no right and no business demanding things from the stoic RK900, and deep down, the churlish detective knew that.

But it still persisted and bothered him like a kick in the head…he was left feeling astonied, but not so much that he would be able to remain silent.

“Nines?!” he repeated louder, “where the fuck were you?!”

Lips curling back in a silent snarl, Nines aggressively inched himself closer to Gavin immediately. Given how tall he was, and now that he was wearing darker clothing, Nines seemed to be a huge black mass as he swept closer to Gavin. However, the shorter male clearly wasn’t fearful or intimidated; he glared resolutely back and stood his ground.

Snickering coldly, Nines threw out dauntingly, “I was wandering all around town for the first few nights just pondering what the hell was to become of me, Reed.” Pausing, he finally inched his eyes to Gavin’s, and they finally made eye contact.

The pressure Gavin felt at once was unsurpassed, crazed, raw, visceral, and ethereal. Was Nines feeling this way, too?! Gavin felt like drowning and being born simultaneously. He felt so dead, and yet so alive as he lost himself in those burning blues…

Teeth gleaming, Nines continued, though his voice seemed pained rather than cruel. “After losing myself to my own pity and madness, would you rather I make up some bullshit lie about self-depreciation enabling me to seek out a few whores and having my way with them?? Hmm?” Leaning closer to Gavin as he lied into his ear almost too intimately for it to be a threat or a harsh word, Nines spat, “Should I tell you how I threw money at them for their less-than-adequate services?! Huh?!”

The wild asperity of it all drove Gavin insane with the burden of his own grief. He couldn’t stand Nines’ breath in his ear, though it wasn’t hot or warm. It was just there, and he couldn’t bear with it. With both hands, he shoved Nines back as hard as he could.

“If you—”

“What, Reed?” Nines cut in aggressively, LED light beaming red even beneath his raven-colored bangs, “isn’t that what you think of me? Hmm? Don’t you regard me as some sex-deprived, freakish lunatic?!”

Not wanting to back down, Gavin hissed through clenched teeth, and held his equally clenched fists tightly at his sides. Trying to contain himself before he exploded right there in the DPD for everyone to see, he very softly and eerily proclaimed to Nines, “I never said that to you, you god damn piece of plastic junk!!!”

The last word had been uttered too loudly, and like all the horrible things he’d blurted out to his mother over the years, it was far too damn late to take this one back.

Stunned, Nines flinched for a second, eyelids fluttering as he stepped away from Gavin. It appeared that those cruel, harsh words finally bit through to him after all. Though the halls were quiet, the thrumming in Gavin’s chest and ears that was his heart, and Nines’ thirium pump working hard and quickly overpowered anything else to the point where they both were unable to hear someone else approaching them quickly.

Casting Gavin a withering look, Nines held a hand up to his chest, when suddenly, the moment of complete pain and mortification had been rudely interrupted.

“Hey! Nines!!” At once, a fist flew forward just when the android looked up. It bashed him right in the nose, and Nines’ head turned to the side roughly as soon as the knuckles impacted with his nose.

Holding his hands up to cradle his nose though it likely didn’t hurt, the android could only stare blankly. Gavin gaped in awe, frozen to the spot as he saw thirium trickling out of Nines’ nostrils in two steady streams again.

_Shit…_

Turning around swiftly, he frowned when he saw Hank Anderson standing by. His hair was pulled back into a tight ponytail, and he wore his reading glasses Gavin had seen him donning before. Eyebrows furrowed on his brow in pure anger, his chest puffed in and out as he fanned out his shoulders, no doubt trying to appear a bit bigger than he normally was if he needed to accost Nines once again. However, that soon stopped when his eyes widened, his chest caved in, a pained expression crawled along his face, and he drew his pink fist up to his mouth.

“Jesus!” He cried out in agony as he kissed his knuckles, “I’ve always wanted to do that, but I can’t say it feels good on the wrist!!”

As Hank massaged his sore fist, Gavin whispered heatedly at him, “What the hell are you doin’, Hank?!” When he wasn’t granted an answer right away, he crowed, “Have you lost your mind?!”

Hank Anderson of course had always been quite the eccentric colleague of Gavin’s, but never had he seen him lashing out at Nines especially. He’d witnessed a few times when the older Lieutenant had roughhoused Connor, but that had been when the android was a new ‘recruit’ of the DPD, and had been forced to work with Hank. Still, the grumpy Lieutenant had warmed up to Connor in no time, and since then, his entire personality and outlook on life had changed as well.

But why had he punched Nines?! Had he hoped to somehow expiate himself for his previous wrongdoings? Or was he genuinely angry with Nines??

A curious Gavin Reed stared helplessly back and forth between Hank and Nines, trying to anticipate who would make the first move. Evidently, it hadn’t been Nines. Although he’d been brutally punched, Nines sniffed once, and wiped his nose and lips quickly with a tissue he’d hidden in his jean pocket. A blue stain still could be seen on his pale skin, but they all had bigger and deeper matters to attend to.

Glaring at Hank, Nines stood back and shoved his hands in his pockets once he’d cleansed his skin as best as he could. Hank met his glares equally, though he didn’t speak just yet.

Unable to tolerate and withstand the heavy tension stinking up the air, Gavin wheezed at Hank as he gripped the back of his neck tightly in a hand. “What the hell’s gotten into you, Hank?! What the fuck was that all about?!”

Pointing at Nines as if he’d been pointing a weapon at him instead, Hank cried out testily, “This slippery son of a bitch has been too evasive!!”

Well, Gavin could agree to that, and seeing as his relationship with Nines had been at odds in such a way that they needed possibly a third party to intervene-if only as an interlocutor, he felt his mouth snapping shut. What was he to say to that, really?

Looking at Nines, he hoped the android would say something, and to his shock, Nines didn’t fail him.

“Hey Hank,” he growled deeply, his voice bizarrely unaffected much by the brutal punch he’d received a moment ago.

Eyebrows shooting up drastically that it appeared cartoonish, Hank choked, “_Hey Hank_? Hey Hank, my ass! The fuck is your problem, Nines?!”

Shrugging nonchalantly, the android replied, “I don’t know what you—”

“Oh, cut the shit already, Nines,” Hank snarled venomously, eyes glowering dangerously with a trace of murder written in them. “You wanna explain right now right here why the hell you’ve been avoiding Gavin and pushing him away like he’s got Herpes or something?!”

Both Gavin and Nines winced before Gavin weakly said, “Thanks, Hank. I appreciate that.”

Ignoring the other implications, Nines straightened his clothing as he hissed, “It’s not a matter that concerns you, Hank,” staring quickly at Gavin, he continued, “I just wish to be left alone.”

This form of spurious reasoning and response tipped Hank’s patience. Cheeks turning beet red as his knuckles, he pushed past Gavin quickly, and he bunched up Nines’ shirt collar in both hands. With a potent burst of energy and strength neither Gavin nor Nines had ever seen him display, Hank tugged Nines closely against his own chest. Once they were eye-to-eye, Hank snarled angrily at Nines.

“Listen here, you god damn self-righteous piece of shit,” while Hank began screaming at Nines, Gavin looked around the halls feverishly.

Although he appreciated Hank’s need to defend him, it wasn’t wise to do this at work!! He knew people could walk by at any minute, and seeing as he’d already had to go through one case of harassment and violent altercations, the last thing he needed was another one to top it all off in less than a day!!

“Hank!” he tugged at the man’s coat sleeves almost desperately, “just forget it!!”

Apparently, that had been the worst thing to say.

Throwing his head back and emitting a rather sarcastic laugh, Hank guffawed, “Oh ho, ho!! Oh boy! That’s _exactly_ how pricks like this get away with it, Gavin!!”

“Hank, I—”

Still hanging onto Nines tightly, Hank’s fingers turned white, and he growled a deep, monstrous growl as Gavin eventually silenced himself. He’d never seen Hank this upset before, and it was just too shocking for him to be unable to do anything else except for staring on.

Almost butting heads with the RK900, Hank strongly emphasized to him, “After work today, you _will_ invite Gavin back to your apartment, you _will_ treat him like a guest, you _will _be more kind to him, and you _will_ start learning how to fucking communicate with him, got it?!”

When Nines didn’t answer, Hank shook him again roughly. “I said got it?!”

Footsteps were steadily approaching, but all Gavin could do was inhale sharply. It came out like an odd wheeze, almost akin to a squeaky toy, but he didn’t care much about how he sounded. What he cared about was being caught in such a compromising position, and he tugged again on Hank’s sleeves to get his attention.

Slowly, as Hank stared Nines down, something flickered deep in the center of the silent android’s eyes. A small smile formed its way onto his face, but he kept his hands down at his sides while continuously peering into Hank’s eyes.

Hank blinked once, and in the brief second he did, Nines leaned back.

“I got it, Hank,” he finally stated, though he didn’t make a move to even free himself, yet. “I’ll do what you said.”

Releasing him slowly while keeping his eyes out for signs of deception or deceit, Hank only squinted at Nines menacingly, but offered him a sharp nod after his declaration.

“Fucking good,” waving at Gavin, Hank placed a hand on the center of his back, and he shoved the shorter male right against Nines.

Gavin blushed when his body smacked into Nines’ again, and this time, he was certain he felt some odd heat radiating from the tall android. He didn’t look up to meet his eyes, but he was sure he could feel those cold blues on his form the entire time.

Finally, Nines whispered, “Come on; let’s go home.”

With a sad sigh, Gavin hung his head down, and he followed Nines quietly. Luckily, no one else had stumbled upon their minor conflict, which Gavin was grateful for to no end.

As they’d walked away, both Nines and Gavin missed the proud look of triumph Hank wore all day after.

At least the older male had a good enough reason to.

~0~0~0~0~0

The lack of good jobs had truly made many formerly middle-class people impecunious in Detroit. Gavin was such a sufferer of the declining economy, but he still knew he had to count his blessings as he drove from Hank’s house all the way to Nines’ apartment. The up-scale part of town he was now in wasn’t any less dangerous at night, unfortunately, but it sure looked pretty in December, to say the least.

Plenty of Christmas trees and lights were on display from every household, apartment complex, and neighboring building. The decorations were all green, yellow, red, and white, accenting the elegance of the homes’ stately architecture while the odd snowman or two hung outside in the front yards. However, among the ‘good’ and ‘lovely’, there also existed the ‘bad’ and ‘ugly’.

Sadly, a lot of that seemed to be centered around the Christmas decorations. As Gavin drove on, every so often, he would peek outside his foggy window, and he would see a random snowman with his nose missing. The carrot serving as the nose would often be placed right in the last mound of round snow sitting at the base of the snowman. Right in the center of its lower torso, the carrot would point out obscenely, no doubt serving as a representation of its manhood. Some houses had their garage doors spray painted with terribly crude words attacking Christmas music lyrics. Gavin even managed to see two reindeer statues outside a house having been rearranged so they mounted each other in a full mating display.

Sighing as he drove on just a bit faster, he’d reached Nines’ apartment in no time. He unpacked his belongings all on his own, and he knew he had to make at least three trips all by himself while Nines left the front door open for him. Well, at least he had half the decency to do that, Gavin supposed.

When he finally settled, Gavin took his time to look around the apartment, and to his shock, Nines had indeed redecorated for the Christmas Holiday. Two fully decorated Christmas trees stood on either side of the large living room, while Nines’ blooming plants bordered them, as well as hung around on the kitchen table and on the counters. The luscious evergreen swags hung around each window, replacing the grey curtains and drapes Gavin originally purchased back in the autumn. There were golden trims around the curtains, and Gavin thought they looked rather pleasant to the eyes. Nines didn’t have any presents by his Christmas trees, though Gavin saw when he’d wandered into the kitchen at the back that the android had changed the Detroit City model to a wintery landscape. He’d thrown glitter and white paper over the model, making it seem like snow had blanketed everything. Leaning over it to study the lovely city model, Gavin was interrupted not long after by a small ‘hooting’ sound.

It sounded an awful lot like a train…

Walking back into the living room, he gasped, and then chuckled in glee when he looked down and saw a tiny train set and train tracks he’d missed the first time around the base of the shorter tree in the living room. The red, brown, and black steam engine drove and wove its way around the first tree, and then cut around the sides of the walls until it looped around the living room all the way to the second, taller tree!

Amused by it, Gavin made his way over towards Nines’ bedroom where the android had holed himself up all evening. The door was firmly shut in his face, of course, but Gavin didn’t let that deter him.

Raising his hand, he gently rapped once on Nines’ bedroom door and then he pushed it open when he heard something he hoped was an invitation for entry.

He found Nines seated behind a small desk facing the only window in the room right across from the bed. It hadn’t been there last time, oddly. Before Nines on the desk happened to be a stack of newspapers, books, magazines, as well as a pair of scissors…Nines was pushing the scissors aside, and when Gavin drew closer, he saw that some glue and glitter were also resting before Nines. If the detective had to wager, he supposed Nines was cutting out whatever he needed from the magazines and newspapers, possibly for a scrapbook of some kind??

Nines didn’t even bother to look up from his desk, continuing to work on whatever was in front of himself. “Go away.”

It had been only two seconds and he hadn’t said a word, but Gavin could already tell this was not going to go well. Irritated beyond words, he nonetheless gathered his courage and continued anyway while Nines picked up his scissors and snipped away at paper.

“I need you to just hear me out for a moment, Nines…”

“No.” Stubbornly, Nines still didn’t turn around to look up. His voice was flat with recrimination as he spat, “Go away and don’t come back in here unless you want to sleep.”

“No.” Determined, Gavin stood tall and folded his arms over his chest. If the recalcitrant android was going to be stubborn about it, he could be too. The utter ignominy of having to beg for this tore at his pride and made him queasy. “I know I was an asshole earlier to you, Nines, but I need to talk…err,” he swiftly corrected himself, “_we_ need to talk!”

Again, Nines hissed, “No.” There was no give in his voice; his refusal sounded final. “Get out of my room.”

On one hand, Gavin realized how petty and childish this could’ve sounded. Truly, it seemed like they were two brats arguing over a place to play at recess.

“I’m not leaving until you let me talk!” Gavin admitted to himself that he should have done that anyway, even without the promise of having his words returned or even understood. He felt bad about what he’d said to Nines earlier, but also when they’d first met. He realized that over the years, he’d actually referred to Nines by all sorts of cruel, demeaning names. It didn’t make it any less proper, but he shouldn’t have been so cruel, no matter how angry and livid he was.

Walking closer to the android as he worked, Gavin began his little rant. “Look, Nines,” he sighed as he placed his hands on his hips and slanted to the side. “I know we’ve had a weird relationship, but I need you to—” His breath died down in his throat, and it was only because of what he’d seen when his eyes landed right then on Nines’ exposed arms.

While the android kept on cutting, Gavin saw that he’d pulled his shirt sleeves up to the elbow. On his wrists, Nines wore thick, black handmade leather wrist bands. They’d been crudely tied together, but that wasn’t what made Gavin gasp out in shock. What had taken Gavin by complete surprise was the fact that on Nines’ left arm happened to indeed be a tattoo, just as he’d suspected.

This tattoo began just above the wrist, which was why Gavin had been able to catch a glimpse of it earlier in the DPD. It stretched out along Nines’ forearm and twisted along the top of his arm as it crept up. It was indeed in black and green. The greens were vines that twisted mystically around Nines’ skin, and out of the vines had grown black flames. The flames swirled and swung around Nines’ lower and upper forearm, sweeping along his human flesh quite nicely in a winding pattern of fury, power, and perhaps anger in terms of what they represented.

As Gavin stood and gaped at it for a moment, Nines growled, “What else do you want, then?”

That seemed to shake Gavin out of his mini pause, and he woke up back to reality.

Glaring at the back of Nines’ head, he viciously snapped, “What the hell makes you think I want something from you, jerk?”

“Well, it’s obvious,” came the harsh jab, “since the only reason you would even come here is because you need me to do something for you.” Setting the scissors down, Nines barely looked over his shoulder at Gavin. “Anything else you do would be rather meaningless, don’t you think?” Turning around more in his seat, Nines finally looked up at him. His face was impassive, but his eyes were furious.

Swallowing thickly, Gavin felt a weird lump rising in his throat again. “Do you want an apology?”

“If it were me, I would have apologized anyway,” Nines answered. “Though I doubt it matters now.”

Rolling his eyes, Gavin hissed, “Look, I know I was being an ass, but pain does that to a person…” Humiliated by the whine in his voice, Gavin grit his teeth and went on, “Surely, even _you_ can understand that.”

He wondered if he’d said too much; gone too far.

Scowling, Nines spat, “I understand nothing. Did you not say that to me once?” Nines then sneered at him, his face ugly and twisted with disgust. “If you feel that way, then I don’t care.”

It suddenly struck Gavin that nothing he could say would change Nines’ mind. Unbelievably, Nines had gone too deep into the words they’d exchanged, once, and now, he simply wasn’t even willing to hear him out. Gavin shouldn’t entirely have been affected by that, and yet, the human was rather shaken by the idea. He honestly hadn’t expected Nines to deny his plea, to leave him in pain. With a sigh that allowed too much of his defeat to be heard, his shoulders slumped in defeat, and Gavin took a step back.

Nines didn’t resume working; he glared hard at Gavin, and as he did, the detective felt the need to spit out an insult.

Eyes capturing the sight of the tattoo, he snarled, “Think that shit impresses me?”

“Close the door on your way out,” was all Nines had to say. His tone was implacable; he really didn’t care.

Without another glance at Nines, Gavin turned and left. He felt like he’d been slapped and stunned, as he always did when someone was ruthlessly cruel. Even with everything he’d seen and been through in his life, it always came as a shock when callousness had been bestowed upon him.

Trudging up the long hallway towards the glowing, gleaming warm lights in the living room, he looked back, half hoping Nines would come after him. Unfortunately, the door clicked shut, and then Gavin heard the lock clicking. He should have known better. There was no mercy in Nines, no understanding, no compassion. Only malice and hate, and bitterness. The fact that it was Gavin’s own fault that he’d incurred Nines’ wrath unto himself made the stunned detective feel all the worse.

He really had no one else to blame.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ......Mir ist kalt, so kalt........  
*Sigh* Men.


	40. Amelioration

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *WARNING! Sexual tenshon, and actual sex...stuff, and on and on and ariston*

_His hand gentled unconsciously as he picked up the small framed photograph from the bedside table. He’d espied it for a while, and the moment his bare skin made contact with the object, electric jolts and waves of energy moved through his body._

_The photo itself showed a little boy in a bright red snowsuit with bears embroidered on the front, small hands encased in navy blue mittens, and a small head covered in a matching hat. His lips, nose and cheeks were chapped and bright from the cold. He was reaching out to touch the hat on the top of a small snowman with coal eyes and a celery nose, then turning to look at the camera with a shy smile. He’d been two and a half when the photo had been taken of his first Christmas with just his father, and even now he could remember the professional photographer snapping it on that fine crispy morning. His father had chased him throughout the backyard, and then they were both laughing when the dark-haired man had made the little snowman dance by puppeteering its branch-like arms as he stood and hid behind its round body. The small boy had clapped his hands in glee. Everything had been perfect that winter; he’d been young, and in love with the youthful innocence around himself, and that little boy had seemed to embody so much promise for the future…_

_He blew out a weighted breath and flopped back onto the silver duvet, his eyes on the dark blue velvet canopy above the bed, the picture on his chest._

Gavin opened his eyes.

He wasn’t on the bed he dreamed about. There were no lovely, gentle colors of silver, velvet, and blue. All he saw was a dark ceiling, occasional lights flickering, and the shadows of the train as it drove on continuously along the floor.

Sitting up, he noticed that he’d fallen asleep on the sofa in Nines’ apartment with his jacket draped over himself like a blanket.

Pathetic.

Groaning and then shivering, Gavin pulled his jacket around his shoulders as he stood up. Peering ahead at the windows, he felt his stomach churning when a gust of wind blew newly chilled night air against the tightly shut windows powerfully. It sounded like hell outside, and he felt grateful to be indoors…however, there was an overbearing sense of emotional coldness still present within the apartment that Gavin was unable to escape from. That same iciness seeping into his bones and muscles only served well to bolster his discomfort, anguish, and inner resentment.

Wondering what Nines was up to, the mildly curious detective placed his jacket back down on the sofa and faced the hallway leading to Nines’ room. Hadn’t he stated that if he needed to sleep in the room, he would leave?

Wanting to check it out for himself, Gavin paced up to the door, and he pressed a hand gently against the cold, hard wood. The lights of the room were still on, as the faint glows indicated beneath the door frame.

Was it still locked??

Hand hovering over the door handle, Gavin squinted in the dark at it, but just before he could gather his courage to even touch it, the lock clicked, and the door swung wide open. Gavin had to look away due to harsh light pouring into his eyes directly. Not accustomed to so much light at once, he shielded his eyes with a hand while Nines stood before him scowling.

“What do you want, now?”

His skin buzzed and prickled. There was an energy building in the air like the moment before a lightning strike. Gavin’s stomach twisted with the ignominy of the situation. He’d foolishly thought that Nines had gotten over it after spending some time alone, but it appeared he was wrong. He found he was wrong about many things, lately…

When he hadn’t been quick enough with a response, Nines growled, “Are you here with the hopes of insulting me??” Snickering, he bowed his head sarcastically. “I had no idea it was anything more than rudimentary gratitude on my behalf not to accept it, but—”

The decadent words and associations were enough for Gavin.

With a tired sigh, he grunted, “It’s late, Nines; can we argue about this tomorrow?”

Nines quirked a brow, “Tomorrow? I think you mean later ‘today’, Reed, especially seeing as how we’re bickering now in the wee hours of the morning, unless you mean to suggest that we continue this damn tirade into the _next_ day?”

Shrinking back from that, Gavin trumpeted, “No, please, Nines, please don’t start that again…”

The stubborn android aggressively pontificated, “Shall I find something else to do with your pretty mouth then? Hmm?” His eyes flashed dangerously as he orated suggestively, “I’m sure we can put it to better use…”

“Why are you so bitchy lately?” The words had already slipped out, and Gavin rubbed his eyes while more than anything else wishing he could wipe all memories of this on-going incident from his mind altogether. “I just want to sleep, man.”

“Spare me your misbegotten sympathies,” Nines muttered resentfully, “that won’t work here, you know.”

Pressing a hand against his forehead, Gavin literally felt his brain throbbing. This was sheer torture. “I wasn’t sympathy fishing,” he answered with pure honesty, “I’m grateful that you stepped in and showed those assholes what Gary and his buddies did to me, you know.”

Nines stared dully at him for a moment, but Gavin knew he was at least listening.

Encouraged, the detective quickly said, “I really felt like for once we were partners, and it was great knowing you had my back, Nines. That’s loyalty, and it’s really rare to come by these days.” Shifting, he was silent for a moment, and then added in, “Thanks for that, and thanks again for—”

“If you’re done with your half-assed words of gratitude,” Nines spat cruelly as he glared at Gavin resentfully, “then you can get to bed, unless you need to use me for some messed-up sexual release…as usual!”

That had been the ultimate statement he didn’t need to hear. It reminded him that he was one sick, demented pervert, and Gavin shrank considerably from the accusation.

“I didn’t use you, Nines…”

“You most certainly did, you jackass!”

“You know that’s not true,” emphasized Gavin, stepping forward, resisting the urge to shove Nines, hard. “You know I’ve had to go through just as much shit as you. You just don’t want to admit there might be a lot we have in common, and you’re enjoying lumping me in with a group of Fedora-tipping, neck-bearded assholes who think about nothing but sex all damn day!!”

Raising his voice as the tension and heat of the argument got to him, clearly, Nines roared mightily, “You think we have things in common?!” Snorting, he threw at Gavin, “Reed, you had me speak to you in a sexually degrading and abusive manner; how is that _anything_ we share in terms of likeness?!”

“Well you seemed to be as into it as I was, you moron!” Gavin screamed back, slowly slipping further and further into madness by way of Nines guiding him with each verbal prod and shove.

Shaking his head, Nines sneered sharply at him. “Reed, I’ve _never_ spoken that way to anyone in my entire existence!” Freezing up, he almost whispered, “Do you have _any_ idea how horribly I felt afterwards?!”

Jaw quivering before he composed himself, Gavin answered, “But that was just ‘fuck-talk’, Nines…all couples do it…”

Rolling his eyes for a second, Nines groaned, “I’m aware of that, Reed! I wasn’t created entirely clueless, I’ll have you know!”

“Okay,” Gavin snapped, realizing the android wasn’t as vacuous as he originally thought, “then what’s your point?”

Lingering in the doorway before him so tall, Nines hissed down at him, “I believe your constant need for abuse, disregard for your own person, your lack of control and care when it comes to your temperament, as well as your previous promiscuity and need to resort to alcoholism are signs of a deeper-seated and deeper-rooted problem that you have yet to acknowledge in order to begin working on, Reed.”

As Nines advanced looming over the shorter male, Gavin looked a little panicked, and panic made him relatively angry. He truly felt ‘on the spot’ and under the ‘light’, now, and he curled back in fear.

“Y-you’re the freak, Nines!” he accused, brain scrambling for anything to make it so that the tables were turned on Nines, and that he was blamed and the one feeling like complete dirt. It was what Gavin often resorted to doing whenever he felt backed into a corner, and the need to lash out for the sake of protecting himself was much too high, now.

The insult rolled off Nines, however. Gavin may as well have thrown fluffy feathers into his face and tried beating him with them. “Everyone has an imperfect aspect of themselves, Reed,” he spat with unnecessary venom, “that’s what I learned first about humans since I became deviant, and it’s a lesson I’m never going back on. So don’t play the role of some innocent when you’re the most broken man I’ve ever met.”

That had really been a character assassination and a calumny Gavin couldn’t accept. Nines was just like this therapist, now; he was saying there was something wrong with him, something broken and not working…he too was judging him…he was like everyone else…

A disappointment.

Forcing himself to recover quickly from the verbal harpoon Nines had lanced forward and assaulted his heart deeply with, a wounded Gavin Reed bit out with utmost vitriol and rage, “And here I was thinking we could have—”

No…he wasn’t going to go there, and he shut his own damn mouth.

_Almost said too much…_

Nines however wasn’t quite ready to let go of what Gavin nearly spouted. Looming over the other male, he stared him down as he demanded, “What was that, Reed? Finish your thought.”

Shrugging, Gavin quickly lied, “I just don’t think there’s anything here worth talkin’ about.” He hoped Nines would now buy it and leave it the hell alone. 

Eyeing him warily, Nines whispered, “What could possibly be here?”

“I don’t know,” spat Gavin, “but I’m starting to realize it might not be worth the effort.”

Something dark and dangerous flashed across Nines’ eyes, and then his LED light blared red.

Immediately, Gavin had a horrible moment of self-awareness, just for a fleeting second before Nines’ large hands were bunched in his shirt and he was dragged into the bedroom wildly. The detective found his lissome back was slammed up against the wall near the closet with such a potency that it frightened him. It hurt to have the wind knocked clean out of him, but for Gavin, the highest point of his fear was psychological and emotional. Nines could’ve been wrapping a hand around his throat and slowly squeezing, but what hurt more was the child inside Gavin, the one that still cried and wailed in the coldest, gloomiest, and darkest of nights. This child was always crying inside, and convinced that no one, not a soul was ever going to love him. That crying child was why he raged at Nines’ injustice, his rejection, hatred blooming like an ugly weed. Nines’ anger was able to bring out many hard truths Gavin had buried and repressed all along. He knew that he’d never had the friends he once thought he had, never known what it was to have people really care, and he’d always experienced just the same social and emotional rejection to deal with. People telling him he wasn’t worth the pain or worth the effort. Even his mother…even his father…

It was an icy shock, sudden and painful, to feel what he had always known about himself.

But it made no sense. How could he be this hurt, especially by Nines? In the past, Nines didn’t even like him, didn’t want to be bothered with him! Yes, he’d always wanted approval from Captain Fowler even as he feigned interest at the prospect of working and being partnered up with Gavin a few times. The human male knew he’d wanted every bit of recognition and respect from Fowler and wanted it in the line of work for the DPD Nines so very desperately coveted, and he’d wanted it most of all from the rest of their human co-workers especially.

While holding him up against the wall, Nines stared at him, wild and a little absent, angry without seeming to know quite what he was doing. Gavin wondered if this fight was really going to be about something as...absent...as his mother and father. It’d been a long time since he’d looked into a mirror and seen anyone but himself. Strangely, he figured that it seemed to be the same for Nines…

“You’re something else, Reed,” Nines finally snickered acerbically. “Clearly you can dish it out, but you can’t take it, huh? What a real piece of work.” The hands pushed him again, just a little, and Gavin tensed, resisting, but in his minor resistance, he found himself listening keenly to Nines.

The android snarled menacingly, “You’re only here because of what you want from me, don’t you get it?” Shaking Gavin a little, he expounded, “You often come to me whenever you’re in need of help, but lately, you’re drawn to me to seek out sexual relief paired with some delusions of a happy ending that’s owed to you.”

Knowing he was again attacking the promise of assisting him in terms of the requirements of the will his father left behind, Gavin remained seething. His own hands came up to push Nines away, but the strong android didn’t even budge. It was rather unsettling how much Nines had changed in terms of his appearance and how aggressive he’d turned out to be. It was a complete dynamic shift when Gavin thought of the first moment he’d laid eyes on the RK900 newly introduced to the DPD the moment he’d left CyberLife…

It hardly mattered. Nines had changed, but for better or worse wasn’t really a topic for discussion.

Glaring down at the tattoo of the dark flames borne out of the sharp green vines, Gavin hissed, “You don’t even have a clue who or what you are, do you?” Now, they were both rather distracted and hot with anger, but neither of them seemed to be able to stop. Writhing for a moment, Gavin eventually pressed out, “You’re a fuckin’ mimic, Nines; you only went ahead and got this shitty tattoo because I haphazardly mentioned you’d look better with one…” Knowing he had the android’s undivided attention, a sudden burst of power took over Gavin. Now, he felt the wild need to assert himself further, even if his assumptions were absolutely wrong.

Nodding at Nines’ clothes, he ranted emotionally, “Same with your clothes. Only when I led you into that damn punk and goth clothing store did you suddenly find an interest in dressing that way; before that, you _never_ showed an interest in this shit, and you know it!!”

Voice rising steadily, Gavin felt his throat already burning, but he didn’t want to quit. Nines was seething and fuming, but he couldn’t say anything. His jaw tightened, and his fingers curled in Gavin’s shirt, but he made no move to interrupt the detective.

“A fuckin’ mimic!” Gavin reiterated his accusation, “Do you even have _one_ fuckin’ clue?? Do you have a single trait of originality in there? Or are you going to always live out your life the way you think other people will like?”

In response, Nines actually snarled. His hands were still twisting Gavin’s dark shirt up, body an inch away and radiating heat. Gavin didn’t like it. He knew he didn’t like the sense of rising alarm and rising awareness, the feeling that somewhere, a line was being crossed. That a line could even be crossed. Nines had never overstepped his mark as a colleague before. Yes, he had in his worst moments raised his voice a few times and shoved chairs and desks around mildly, but he’d never been like this–violent, physically touching anyone, looming with a threat that he was able to hit or do whatever he liked. Gavin supposed though that now, Nines had nothing left to lose in doing this, and only because they were on their own time now, and supposedly equals.

And the detective realized he was breathing steadier now, but quickly, like he’d been running. While Nines listened to his tremulous breathing, he reacted, and that panicked look was emerging again. Seeing it there before, Gavin understood that he felt he wanted to know what it was that scared Nines so much. No…no, on second thought, he didn’t want to know. To know would mean he had to get closer to Nines; to open up to him, to open himself wounds and all to Nines, and be vulnerable.

Gavin already had plenty of open, festering wounds from his past, so there was no telling what effect it would have, and that was all this was–the strange and alien side-effects of a dangerous psychological substance. It didn’t need to be analyzed; it didn’t need to be given more attention. Even though Gavin knew there was something, _something_ going on in the space between them and the expression on Nines’ face. It seemed to slow things down, but the android’s hands were loosening on his shirt, and Gavin didn’t know what it could’ve meant and implied except bad things about to occur.

He believed this wholeheartedly for the split second it took for Nines to reach up and grab his hair, pulling it back as though to look for an answer to the unspoken question in Gavin’s face. He still believed it as he licked his dry lips, and then observed Nines emulating that same gesture.

He didn’t know quite when the tension came to its peak, and then shattered. He didn’t know who did it and who started it. Gavin wasn’t even thinking the word or action of _kiss_. He was just feeling, feeling a mouth over his, pressing hard, and it felt enough like a battle that it was easy to fight back with an open mouth and sharp teeth. And, oh, terror was rising in his chest, a bloom of heat sparking his fingertips, flooding with adrenaline ready to fight.

Except it really wasn’t a fight. They just bit at each other’s mouths wildly, a most violently charged pantomime of sweet intimacy.

Panic stopped Gavin from breathing and he pulled away, but then Nines tried to pull away further and Gavin couldn’t deal with meeting his eyes and admitting-admitting anything, anything at all except that he so very much enjoyed that hot slick feeling and the warmth of a body against his. Immediately, pulled Nines back.

Though he let Gavin back down to his feet, Nines slammed his hands back on the shorter male’s shoulders, pressing hard. As he did this, Gavin unleashed his own version of an assault by wrapping his hands around Nines’ neck, and then yanking as hard as he could on his black hair strands. It was as though if they hurt each other they could imagine something else sufficing as a release from the painful reality and truth of their current seat of problems.

It was now more or less a twisted competition to see who could inflict the most pain. However, Nines was winning whatever the game was, because now Gavin was pinned by the length of Nines’ body pressing him to the wall, and there were hands in his hair and his legs felt weak against the assault.

It wasn’t a good kiss. Applying such a word to it would be ridiculous, because it was hot and wild and incautious, barely a kiss at all, with an edge of desperation. But it was...Gavin didn’t want to think what it was. He only confirmed that he didn’t want it to be real, so he closed his eyes and slid his hands over Nines’ broad chest, mind flickering over the notion of imagining someone else. Right when he did, he felt a little sick at the perversion of his own thoughts and clung a little harder. Nines shifted his hips, and someone-Gavin didn’t want it to be himself-made a noise like nothing he’d ever heard. It was something part fear and all desire, and it was too much to handle.

He pulled his head back, hitting the icy wall with a dull crack. He kept his eyes closed, his hands tight around fistfuls of black clothing, and tried to remember what it was like to breathe. Watching him carefully, Nines stayed close; his breath was on Gavin’s neck, harsh and ragged.

“I—” began Gavin, quickly horrified when his word came out breathy and pleading. Wincing, he continued, “I just don’t—”

“Then don’t,” Nines groaned out, no more composed. It was startling to hear that hitch in his breath. Startling and sort of powerful, a bit heady and dangerously exciting, and because it stopped Gavin from thinking through any rational thought. Knowing he was the source and the cause of Nines’ current state of raw discomfort, he pushed his hips up into Nines’ experimentally.

“What-you—” came the shaky response from Nines, though it was barely a word. Gavin bit his lower lip, eyes still closed, and tried not to groan. Nines caught his hands, as though to hold Gavin back, but then he was pressing Gavin-pressing his whole body against the other male, and there was a hot, solid evidence of guilty pleasure pressing into the detective’s thigh.

Trembling, Gavin tried to move a hand to pull Nines’ head down so his mouth could meet his, but the android was still holding on ever so tightly to his wrists, as though the only way he could hold onto this was through the illusion of power. Far beyond stunned and aroused, Gavin let him have it; he let him take responsibility for this, so that he too could feel that it wasn’t his fault when he opened his eyes and begged Nines to kiss him.

Immediately understanding what it was he wanted, Nines acquiesced. This time, when their lips met sweetly, it was a far gentler exchange. It didn’t remain that way for too long, however; Nines was the first to grip Gavin’s face in a powerful hand, and he forcefully pried the detective’s lower jaw down while his hot, demanding tongue pushed through the tight seam of Gavin’s lips. Tongues met shyly, but Nines wasn’t shy for long. Now, he really took over the kiss, and would have no doubt continued it had Gavin not needed to come up for fresh air.

When they broke apart, Nines’ wide-eyed, naked stare was becoming addictive, but not quite as addictive as the harsh sensation of a rough tongue over Gavin’s. Not quite as addictive as sharp teeth pulling at his bottom lip. Not nearly as addictive as the little shivers that ran through himself every time Nines shifted his hips, and nothing like as much of a thrill as Nines’ hands scrabbling at his shirt.

Still kissing him in a bruising way, Nines tore apart the buttons of Gavin’s shirt without moving away, and Gavin rolled his shoulders to shake it off. The wall at his back was icy, but Nines’ broad body was too hot, and it felt feverish. Gavin wondered, through a haze of heat, somnolent divinity, and confusion, if the motion of Nines’ hips against his own would actually drive him insane.

Then, Nines tore himself away. A bit uneasy, Gavin stared at him in panic, shirt gone and shivers chasing themselves over his skin. The hot, dark look in Nines’ eyes made him itch and nearly fall over in need he’d never felt before. Nines looked wild now, clothes creased, and ebony colored hair mussed. His eyes were wide, and a frenzied look of madness coursed within them, while his bangs stood crooked and off-balance like a puppet on severed strings.

Taking a moment to gaze at Gavin’s nude chest, Nines growled, and then advanced on the shorter male.

Recoiling when he saw how possessive Nines looked, Gavin begged, “Don’t,” and he couldn’t have ever imagined begging like that. He could see Nines swallow.

“You have no idea what you’re doing,” Nines exhaled, voice cracking; breathy and strangely unfamiliar.

“A-and,” Gavin started, but his voice failed him. He swallowed thickly and tried again. “And you do?”

Nines straightened up, and Gavin found he couldn’t cope with the conversation or witnessing Nines’ fight for composure. He was dazed and lost when he knew that Nines-the stronger of them both-was breaking rapidly.

“Please, come here,” Gavin beckoned, all steel and desperation, and Nines closed his eyes and stepped forward. He ran a hand through Gavin’s messy hair, and that strange tenderness was almost too much for the other male, almost unbearable. He leaned up into a kiss Nines was delivering already.

It was real, this time; raw and physical but an undeniable kiss, with purpose and intent. Nines was taking something from him, fulfilling some deep need, drawing out Gavin’s breathy gasps and feeling the human’s hopelessly fluttering heart. Those elegant hands roamed again, blind, with not much in the way of a goal than to touch and keep touching. Those hands never ceased absorbing every inch of Gavin’s heated skin.

Biting down hard on Nines’ lips, Gavin wondered what had caused him to break from the sensual kiss and turn violent again, when he felt the unmistakable sensation of Nines digging his fingertips into his hips. The pressure bestowed on Gavin’s hips were bruising, and he held on tightly as he gripped Nines’ shoulders.

At once, Nines pulled his mouth away, leaving Gavin panting and never more than a breath away. Nines groaned, while Gavin threw his head back as he felt the android’s powerful hips bucking. It sent a pulse of pleasure that connected every muscle he had like a bolt of electricity.

“Fuck.” He whimpered his truest, darkest desire in one word, but didn’t get very far, because Nines had already slid a hand into Gavin’s jeans.

The moment Nines’ hand expertly pushed past the waistband of Gavin’s underwear, the sexually charged man bucked, his neck snapping back again, and it was very nearly enough to cause pain, but not quite. Nines seemed to need this so urgently, and as he fisted Gavin’s erection, his mouth latched feverishly on Gavin’s neck. Then, that licentious mouth was on his collarbone, panting, sucking. Soon, he began biting hard, and he made a biting path back to Gavin’s face, where he delivered a nasty nip on Gavin’s lower lip.

While he was being stroked firmly, Gavin could feel the tremble in Nines’ hand. A thought suddenly slammed into Gavin that they were both shaking, and he’d never tried so hard in his life not to lose control, because this could never, ever end.

But Nines soon removed his hand from Gavin’s jeans and underwear. He was sliding to his knees, and Gavin wondered if it was exhaustion or the fact that this was overwhelming, _too_ overwhelming. Feeling his brain turning into a mushy mess of feelings, he concluded it was better that way, because before Gavin could even think, his jeans slid down the length of his legs, and Nines had spread his thighs. Immediately, there was a hot, wet pressure wrapping around him. Gavin could have screamed and thrust away into the warm mouth that was around his length, but he didn’t. Mouth open silently as an urgent tongue and pair of lips worked him, sucking at him harder and deeper, it was far too obscene to watch, yet it was the best thing he had ever felt. It was too much, far too much. Gavin found his back arching until his spine cracked, and when his control broke it felt too good to be real.

Through his delirium, Gavin pondered if this was about control again, because he didn’t think he’d ever be able to feel this good again during sex without Nines. All too quickly, however, a blinding hot, white flash of light scorched behind his closed eyes. His knees gave way, and he ended up slumped bonelessly against the wall, opposite Nines, who was wiping his mouth with a strange, unsettling expression.

Eyeing him nervously, Gavin swallowed thickly, and with mild difficulty. He didn’t want to speak just yet. Nor did he want to move, but he had the feeling that he should.

“W-what was th-that?” He couldn’t believe he’d asked such an obvious question when his lower half was still tingling and throbbing, and his underwear was just as wet as he himself was between his legs.

Shaking, Nines hissed, “It was—fuck…” He’d uttered his reply barely coherently. It gave Gavin another strange rush. To hear Nines’ voice shattered and wild knowing that he was responsible for it being that way…it just…it woke something dormant within himself that felt ethereal.

Slowly moving back to rest on his knees, Gavin sighed, “Why do I—”

“We’re done,” Nines randomly announced, voice gravelly and low. “This is done. It doesn’t have to be analyzed, and don’t try and manufacture some palatable explanation.” Rather depraved, he ran a trembling hand through his own messy hair, brushing it back to make it seem more ‘composed’ and neat.

Mimicking him, Gavin snorted out, “Palatable explanation?” Shaking his head, Gavin muttered to himself slowly, in a voice much rougher than usual. “Whatever.”

“Shit happens,” said Nines, not looking at him.

Gavin gaped at him while slowly getting up and drawing both his jeans and underwear up. “Do this shit all the time, do you?” he accused coldly, swaying slightly while up on his feet. While Nines looked away, Gavin fought to regain some semblance of dignity. But it all broke away when Nines just stared emptily at him.

When it was silent for too long, Gavin hissed, “Thought not.” Sighing a broken sigh, he commented, “Well, surprisingly enough, I don’t get head often, but what the hell, if you want me to go, I’ll go. I suppose nothing’s changed for you, so I might as well get the fuck outta here before you can do some other weird shit to me that—”

Before he could make his way back out of the room, Nines latched onto his hand, and he dragged him roughly towards the bed. Throwing Gavin down into the center of it, he didn’t allow the startled man a chance to even move; he flung himself down over Gavin, both arms on either side of the detective’s body. Hands gripping Gavin’s hips, Nines peered down at him, an angry expression instantly upon his face.

“You—”

Again, Gavin was racked with guilt, anger, and that familiar sensation of lust. It had only grown in intensity the moment the more dominant male hovered over him, bio-components firm and rigidly pressing into soft human flesh and bone. Pissed that he was responding to Nines this way, and beyond infuriated that he’d been intimate with a man yet again, Gavin sneered. However, as much as he’d intended for that to be taken seriously, it wasn’t. Especially not when Nines was already massaging his hips and moving his hands up along his abdomen slowly…teasingly…

Hissing through his teeth, Gavin’s vision blurred, and his mind swam as he garbled out, “Why do I feel this way around you? Why _you_? I don’t—”

Nines’ smile was what stopped him from continuing.

As the sensual android smiled, he purred out the burning words Gavin never in a million years wanted to hear.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That awkward moment when you notice that at first, Nines was implying for Gavin to suck him off, and then Nines himself ends up blowing Gavin.  
Bless, child.


	41. Undisclosed Desires

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun (and useless) piece of info: The Mangled Mermaid is a pub in the 2011 video game Alice Madness Returns by American McGee. It’s based off the Alice in Wonderland books and media, and just for shits and giggles, I’ll include a photo of the actual ‘Mangled Mermaid’ logo itself!

“Maybe now you’re beginning to understand.”

……

Gavin’s eyebrows clenched, but then rose. “What did you say, Nines?”

“Maybe now you’re beginning to understand what you want, hmm?” Nines growled lustfully, despite the growing calamitous situation.

It did nothing to soothe Gavin’s nerves, and he heaved the android off himself as he sat up on the bed. “No, repeat for me right now what that means, and stop speaking in riddles, Nines!!” He had half a notion as to what Nines was referring to already, and _everything_ in Gavin’s power and will hoped and wished that it wasn’t true…

Sitting before him, Nines sighed while glaring at him. “You should know your own sexuality and sexual proclivities by now, Reed.” Staring too much and for too long at Gavin’s chest so that it made the other male uncomfortable, Nines concluded, “You could be leaning towards men. Didn’t you once tell me in autumn that—”

Immediately cutting in, Gavin hissed angrily, “I know what the hell I said, Nines, but I meant that it’s natural for a guy to find other guys attractive…” Pausing, he frowned and then added, “…I mean…it _is_ okay, right?”

Nines only scowled incessantly, and Gavin got the feeling that he’d said something wrong somehow. This angered him. He wasn’t a damn mind reader, and he wasn’t sure how he’d offended Nines, but he knew he just had. Something had hit home for the android to make him glower away so heatedly and ceaselessly, but Gavin was afraid to ask what it just could’ve been.

Staring down at Nines’ dark clothes, he whispered fearfully, “I’m straight…I’ve only slept with women…”

“Then how can you explain what has just happened between us?” Nines asked, and then added, “How can you provide an answer for what _has _been brewing between us for months, now? All the experiences, all the moments…” Leaning close to Gavin’s ear, he ravenously purred, “You’ve changed, Reed, as have I…” His tongue flickered out of his mouth and barely grazed the shell of Gavin’s ear. “You know, I almost don’t feel like myself anymore when I’m around you…”

With a mighty roar emitted, Gavin shoved Nines hard in the chest. “Get the fuck away from me!!”

Nines stumbled back a little, but he wasn’t much affected by the push. Nodding, he only muttered, “Yeah, sure, Reed. I’ll do that while you continue living in your Happy Land of Denial.”

“I’m not in denial!” Gavin screamed, and then lowered the volume of his voice considerably when he remembered what time it was. Nervously, he whispered out, “I know who I am, Nines, and what happened here was just a momentary lapse in my judgement.”

_A one-time thing…_

“You mean I was a one-night stand?” Nines snickered, “How fucking romantic.”

Glaring at him, Gavin shoved his bangs away from his face when they fell down annoyingly. “Nines, that’s not what I meant,” he groused, “I just…look, not to be nasty, but I haven’t been with a woman in a long, long time, and I think—”

Already catching the hint, Nines concluded on his behalf, “You think you’re confused?”

Confusion?? Gavin Reed didn’t consider himself confused often, but he supposed it was just a matter of semantics, really…

Sitting on the edge of the bed, he sighed, “Well, I think that because I haven’t…you know…” He stared down between his legs, and Nines did too, LED light flashing quickly.

With a tiny smirk toying at the corners of his lips, he stated, “You’re pretty backed up, I get it.”

“NINES!”

As sheer mortification and discomfort flowed into Gavin’s head and brain, he instinctively crossed his legs tightly together, and he turned to the side as he tried keeping away from Nines. When the android smiled at him and leaned over in his face, Gavin shoved him away again aggressively.

“Keep your pervy eyes away from me!” he warned. “You freak!!”

Settling back out of respect, Nines pressed both hands on the mattress as he chuckled out, “So you were confused and trying to get back in the game before sampling and reaching out to women, right?” Shaking his head, he tsked, “Real charming, Reed.”

Pointing at his perfect nose, Gavin nearly poked it as he ground out irritably, “Listen, I wasn’t trying to use you or anything! I just had to get whatever the fuck was going on with me out of my system!!” Eyebrows furrowed, and his eyes squinted at Nines, though it was mostly a reaction due to not getting proper sleep. Everything hurt, but Gavin tried not to blink a lot as he tilted his head back and softly suggested, “Nines, please, let’s just forget these things, alright?”

Jaw dropping in amazement, Nines gasped, “Wow, you think you can just sit back with the hope that I’ll somehow forget these experiences?!” Reaching forward and gently flicking Gavin in the forehead, he growled angrily, “Reed, if you’ll pardon my saying so, but did your parents ever tell you what your I.Q. test scores were?”

His response was for Gavin to elbow him in the sternum while seething petulantly. “Knock it off, dick head!”

Unrelenting, Nines drawled on, “I mean, haven’t you noticed that anytime you and I are left alone together somewhere, we’re unable to keep our hands off each other?”

Sputtering, Gavin croaked, “Y-yeah but that’s…just…some weird compulsion…thing…”

Drastically leaning into him until their noses almost rubbed, Nines grinned a predatory grin. “Sexual attraction, Reed,” he snickered playfully, eyes shining brightly like scintillating stars. “I believe what you’re referring to is sexual attraction.”

Now that it’d been stated out loud like that so openly, Gavin felt the effects and implications of the words seeping slowly into his brain. Feeling numb from the chest down, he shivered involuntarily as he croaked back, “Sexual attract—”

“I’ll make it easier for you,” Nines purred delightfully, and then pointed at himself first, and finally at Gavin. “You,” he stated slowly, as if addressing a child rather than a fully grown adult, “are…sexually…attracted,” as he spoke out this word, he made it so that he formed the shape of a heart in the air, tracing it out with both index fingers of both hands, “…to…” pointing at himself again, he finished, “…me.” When he was through, he sat back with a smirk so smug that Gavin really wanted to wipe it clean off his damn face.

“Think it’s that easy, huh?” Gavin snarled, pressing his sweaty hands over his thighs as he grunted, “I think you’re full of shit, Nines.”

Eyebrows quirking up, Nines chuckled in amusement, “Then produce a shred of evidence going against what I just said to you.” The android’s smirk grew even larger, “If you think whatever I’m saying is complete crap, then prove me wrong.”

Though the room was silent, the tension grew, and it became increasingly sharp, almost strident as it rung around in Gavin’s ears. He knew he was blushing, but it was more so from anger.

Placing a hand on his forehead to brush more bangs back, he whispered, “What…I mean, h-how can I…?”

“A test, then?” Nines suggested, “I propose we head out for a night. Maybe then you can examine the field, see new people…”

Gavin nodded slowly, “You mean we should go out to try and land dates?”

Pausing, Nines finally commented, “Well, this is more or less for you, Reed. I don’t think you should care what I’m doing.”

“I don’t,” Gavin cut in rudely, “but I want this to be fair, I guess.” If he was going to potentially get laid, perhaps Nines should as well? Pondering about the notion for a brief moment, Gavin suddenly felt a little sick at the idea of Nines with another woman…something about it made his heart feel heavy, so he pushed that aside.

Straightening up, he confirmed, “Alright, let’s do that.”

“You’re on, Reed,” Nines stated, all too pleased with this ‘idea’ and plan to move forward. “Tomorrow night, we’ll head out into town, and I think we should make it a clear priority to have a lot of fun.”

For once, Gavin found he actually agreed with Nines on one thing.

~0~0~0~0~0

Saturday night, Gavin and Nines were dressed in their best outfits. Nines decided to leave a lot of his gothic attire back at home, apparently, though he kept on his leather bracelets and a dark chain over his neck. Dressed in new black jeans that weren’t torn, he’d also donned black combat boots on his lower torso. On his top, he appeared to be ‘clean’ and ‘refined’ as he wore a black casual shirt with the sleeves drawn up to his elbows. It held white buttons and a propped back collar, but otherwise looked dashing on the android.

Gavin wore a brand-new pair of blue jeans as well, but due to it still being the end of the first week of December, he was affected by the cold. He chose to wear a grey waffle stitch quarter-zip mockneck sweater. It was freshly washed, thankfully, and he thought he looked pretty damn good in it as he took one last peek into his mirror before he exited the bathroom in Nines’ apartment.

Once there together in the hallway dressed from head to toe, they curtly greeted each other and drove on through town. For the duration of the ride, Gavin knew Nines was staring intently at him. It was difficult to avoid feeling angry about it, soon, and Gavin glared over at Nines when they happened upon a red light, finally.

Smiling innocently at him, Nines remained silently assessing, though his eyes seemed to take on a ‘fondness’ for Gavin the other man had never witnessed there before.

It pissed him right off.

“Would you stop lookin’ at me like that?!” he snapped out when the light turned green slowly, “and why on Earth do you smell so weird?!?!” Truthfully, Nines didn’t smell bad at all, and Gavin knew it. He wasn’t entirely sure, but he could’ve sworn that Nines was wearing some kind of fancy cologne…

Winking at him, Nines supplied just the very answer to Gavin’s burning questions. “It’s new ‘Men’s Nightly Scents’, according to the bottle, anyway.”

Again lying through his teeth, Gavin held a hand up to his nose and bellowed angrily, “Well, it fuckin’ reeks, man! Don’t ever use this shit again!!”

“Okay, Reed.”

It began snowing gently as they located a new pub not too far away from _Jimmy’s Bar_ called _The Mangled Mermaid_. Gavin saw the bright sign as his vehicle’s windshield wipers pushed back the snow that had melted on his windshield. It beckoned his curiosity, and he pointed at the sign when his android partner paused in bewilderment at what he was doing. The layout of the sign was of a mermaid figure, though she was rather thin and gaunt looking. Her tail had been decorated for the Christmas season so that her scales consisted of red, green, and orange lights that flickered on and off repeatedly.

“Wanna try this one?” Gavin asked, and he caught Nines nodding.

“The ‘Mangled Mermaid’, huh?” smiling, he stated, “sounds lovely.”

Gavin was quick to find a parking spot, and as he exited the car and practically jogged up to the front doors, he saw a sign that read: **_Grand opening night!! First round of drinks are free! Enter through the back!_**

Waving at Nines, Gavin declaimed while flittering away, “We gotta come in through the back, apparently.”

He missed the rather lewd look Nines threw at him for a quick moment. “Double entendre, Gavin…”

Thankfully, Gavin hadn’t heard him.

As soon as they entered through the old doors, which Gavin found had been purposefully designed to resemble old Wild West saloon doors, old fashioned ‘bar’ music that was on the side of ‘cheesy’ hit their ears. The pub was decorated fancily, given its opening night. A brown piano stood next to the large row of rectangular windows, and while it had no one playing on it, Gavin knew it was a piano that was pre-set to play a tune automatically. The lights above were beaming brightly, and the place was so very warm and welcoming.

Throughout the interior, Gavin was able to find a decent sized Evergreen Christmas tree, a ton of candles, and old-fashioned chairs and bar stools. A lot of patrons were already inside, a few of them gathering around the loud piano to dance to the upbeat music while they held their drinks in their hands. However, as perfect as the place appeared to be, Gavin was quick to espy a few oddities. For instance, he found that a dirty shoe had been crudely abandoned beneath a table next to wall alongside the washrooms. Strangely, even a roll of red yarn was hanging beneath the bar counter at the left side, though no one noticed, and for good reason.

Not long after Nines and Gavin had walked in, a large, chubby woman with bright orange hair wearing a Santa hat walked out from the back room behind the bar. She was carrying a platter of mince pies. Their delicious scents wafted in the air, and right away, as she held them out above her head like wondrous prizes, she shrieked in a bombastic voice, “PIE’S ON THE HOUSE TONIGHT!!!”

Like a swarm of hungry, rancid beasts, a concourse of at least ten people dashed ahead eagerly. While they waited for their portions, Gavin was able to pick out a seat for himself and Nines near one of the artificial trees in the corner in the most further back region the bar. The booth sat next to an obscuring part of a stand, possibly for a musician…

Though no band was playing tonight, Gavin and Nines saw a small stage just to the side of the piano. It was empty and barren, of course, much to Gavin’s dismay. It stood like a silent piece in the bar, bringing about a clamant question to the thoughtful detective’s mind as to whether any musical band would ever be performing there tonight.

Settling into the wooden chairs evenly, Gavin and Nines took off their jackets, and they hung them and draped them behind the seats neatly. Scraping their chairs along the wooden floor until they were comfortable enough, Gavin surveyed around the bar while Nines peeked over around the table legs.

Snickering, he pointed out almost innocently like a child, “Look, there’s more yarn and silver tinsel here.”

Hushing him when the lights dimmed, Gavin snapped acerbically, “Who cares, Nines!! This isn’t the reason why we came here!”

While the upbeat and jovial music played on from the piano, another one of the pub owners put some more red and white candles on the branches of the various Christmas trees. A pretty decent amount of Christmas ornaments and bulbs were placed onto the trees, windowsills, and even on top of the piano. The owners of the pub handed them out randomly to the patrons who weren’t that drunk yet, Gavin figured.

The patrons then took what sort of looked like bits of garland, and they added the extra candles they’d been handed out to join the copious decorations on the mantle of a modern looking fireplace across from the piano. The grey shelves surrounding the fireplace stacking up along the stone and brick walls were full of glitter, bells, gold, red, green and blue decorations, as was the rest of the pub. Not to mention the mistletoes hanging above every other foot or two...

As the lights dimmed down more, Gavin leaned against Nines and whispered, “See anyone you like so far?”

Throwing an incredulous look his way, Nines replied, “Not exactly, Detective…” His words lingered in the air for a moment, and out of a fear of what they really meant, Gavin didn’t dare surrender to his inherently curious desire to peek over at Nines. The reverent fear that the android was giving him an impenetrable stare weighed too greatly on his shoulders, and it was enough to deter him.

Ruefully, Gavin waited for a while as the music played on and on, and he gazed all around the pub slowly, just in case he missed someone the first time around. No, to his disdain, it didn’t appear that any woman was readily available for a chat…

Hanging his head low, Gavin tried repressing his rage and disappointment, but he apparently wasn’t able to do a good job of passing off convincingly to Nines, especially. The observant android smirked at him and again whispered lowly against his cheek, “Don’t give up yet; the night is still young…”

Recoiling in disgust, Gavin growled, “Don’t hiss in my ear, Nines! And keep your eyes open!! It’s the first night this joint opened, so I’m sure a lot of people will come and go!”

“Okay, Reed.”

Resisting the urge to scowl, Gavin sat back, and for a long, long time, he did something he hadn’t done in a while; he started people watching. People watching was something of an art and a talent he’d accrued working as a detective to sniff out inconsistencies and such, but for now, he was only doing it to hunt down an attractive night partner. It came in handy to do this and employ such a technique, and he momentarily forgot about the possibility of being let down and rejected as he whispered to Nines about all the things his observant eyes had caught on to quickly.

“Notice how the guy sitting at the middle stool by the bar counter keeps scratching his head?”

Taking him up on his little ‘game’ of sorts, Nines smiled as he nodded and announced, “He has a pretty bad case of dandruff, Reed.”

“Ha! Knew it!!” Smiling a genuine smile, Gavin continued to observe and share what he’d discovered with Nines, his doughty spirit and ideas motivating and encouraging him relentlessly.

Eyes moving about relatively quickly, he whispered out excitedly, “The married couple at the third table close to the left-hand side of the bar next to the window there are arguing!”

Nines fired back, “The man who just returned from the washroom is wearing a toupee.”

Oh, was this ever fun!

Chuckling too deeply in his amusement, Gavin looked around more, and one by one, the funny observations spilled forth like a flood. He didn’t engage in ‘people watching’ quite often with others, but now that he had someone who didn’t seem to mind competing with him as opposed to being offended, he really lost himself to the sheer enjoyment of the activity.

“The woman by the piano is pretending to be drunk!”

For every point he made, Nines made one as well, apparently having just as much fun.

“The chubby guy in the black coat is trying to flirt with one of the female owners for more pie!”

“The elderly gentleman in the center of the bar is looking for his dentures, which he dropped out of his pockets when he sneezed!”

“The lady over there in her early thirties wearing the red and yellow dress is actually not that bad looking…”

……

“She also has a dick, Reed.”

Gasping in fright when Nines announced that observation, Gavin peered over at the relatively beautiful young woman with long flowing dark brown hair that swept down to the middle of her back. He’d considered wandering over where she was to flirt with her and test his chances of landing a date with her, but as he saw Nines’ yellow LED light flickering, he knew the android had already scanned her and wasn’t lying.

Snickering when he saw a younger male no older than in his early twenties sitting next to her and obviously flirting with her, he chuckled his amusement to Nines. “Guess that guy’s in for a surprise, huh?”

“That he is, Reed, that he is.”

The next half hour went on for much the same way, but afterwards, Gavin’s sour mood returned once again. No women seemed to be interested in even looking his way, and the ones who entered the bar were quite young. For him to try and pick one of them up could possibly be seen as predatory, and once again, Gavin was reminded of his damn age when he eyed the way they were dressed.

Maybe he really was getting too fucking old…

Feeling angry and disheartened, he kept to himself and then decided to try and drown his frustrations in alcohol. It’d worked for him in the past, and it seemed like a damn good option, now.

Nodding sharply at Nines, he announced, “Wait here for a moment; gonna get something to drink.”

“Okay, Reed.”

Sighing as he got to his feet, Gavin walked at least a few feet ahead towards the bar, when due to the poor lighting, he knocked roughly into someone.

Pain shot up and down his shoulder, but before he could insult the individual he’d knocked into, the music ended, finally, and the lights brightened for a quick intermission. The figure standing before Gavin now was absolutely radiant…it was a woman roughly seven to ten years younger than himself, and she had medium-length wavy brown-black hair. Her side bangs swished, and she smiled a bright smile at him that immediately lit a fire in his loins he hadn’t felt for a while. She was wearing a tight black mini-skirt, black thigh-high winter boots, and a hot pink sweater.

“Sorry about that!” she giggled flirtatiously, and Gavin felt that her voice dripped sex and sensuality. It pulled him in right away, but before he could say anything to her, a man immediately joined her.

Fuck…he was almost as tall as Nines, and he looked pissed…

Trying to cut the bullshit before he embarrassed himself, he turned to the angry-looking man who looked much younger than the woman, and he muttered weakly, “Sorry for bumpin’ into your girl, man.”

At once, the man and the woman exchanged quick glances, and then burst out in laughter.

Lovely…so he really was being mocked, after all.

Gavin wanted to tell them both to get fucked, but then the woman fanned herself as she blushed deeply. Gavin thought it looked cute…

“He’s my brother!!” she asserted as she gestured at the man standing at her side, “but people always think we’re together, so we’re used to it!!!”

_Brother?!?!?_

Gaping at the taller male, Gavin saw shortly cropped hair fashioned into an uppercut. Though his hair was gelled back, it was a few shades darker than the woman’s, and his eyes were as round and as light brown as hers. His lashes weren’t as thick, however, and his lips were thin. His face was more angular and bonier, but Gavin supposed they could’ve been related for sure. The male was dressed as meticulously as the woman standing next to himself; dark dress pants and dress shoes, with a bright red dress shirt and tie. He smelled of old pine and of apples, and it was a nice, clean smell. Truly, Gavin felt relieved they were related, because if they hadn’t announced it, he would’ve thought they were a pretty decent couple standing next to each other.

Shifting her dark winter coat to rest folded neatly over her forearm, the woman adjusted the strap of her black purse onto her left shoulder as she held out her hand for Gavin to take. “I’m Marissa,” she sang out, beaming at him cheerfully.

Taking her hand and shaking it, Gavin introduced himself proudly, “I’m Gavin!!”

Now, it was her brother’s turn to introduce himself. Stepping up to Gavin, he smiled a friendly smile and held out his large hand. “I’m Robert,” shaking Gavin’s hand, he added, “it’s nice to meet you.” A puckish gleam followed his introduction, though it seemed charming more than wicked or naughty.

“Nice to meet you both,” Gavin stated, though he more so aimed the comment at Marissa. As they stood before each other, Gavin felt a lot of sex appeal and attraction wafting off Marissa. He’d been with plenty of women to decipher the codes and signals. Her pupils were dilated, her chest moved up and down quickly, clearly showing her heart was beating just as fast as his own, and she seemed to be puffing out her very well-endowed chest to give him an eyeful…

_Damn._

Gavin’s mouth went dry, but he managed to still be a ‘gentleman’ enough to motion over at the table he’d been seated at with Nines. “If it’s umm,” he coughed, and then started over, “if it’s okay with your brother, Marissa, might I buy you a drink? I’d like to get to know you better…”

Her brother smirked, and he grunted, “No worries; I’m also here on the prowl!” Leaning down towards Gavin, he added, “Just make sure you remember that I’ll be nearby, so please treat my sister right…”

Nodding quickly, Gavin stated, “Of course! I—”

“Come on,” Marissa interrupted, looping her slender arm around his own as she grinned a white grin at him playfully.

Gavin eagerly led her up to his table shared with Nines, but as they drew closer, he watched when Marissa’s pleasant smile turned into a look of concern.

“Oh,” she coughed out uncomfortably, “and you are?”

Dazed at her beauty and hourglass figure, Gavin didn’t catch on until Nines sighed out, “I’m leaving.”

_Fuck!!! _

Alert, now, Gavin’s head spun back to Nines, and he croaked out, “Shit!! Sorry!” Turning to Marissa, he quickly said, “Th-this is just a buddy of mine!”

Waving, Nines called out ‘have fun’ over his shoulder, quickly disappearing between the sea of dancing bodies. In a few mere seconds, he was gone, and Gavin was finally left alone with Marissa. Good…this was what he’d wanted, and he hurriedly pulled out Nines’ chair for her to sit down comfortably on.

She giggled softly, “Chivalry isn’t dead, is it?”

Gavin had wanted to make a joke about how if he didn’t treat her well, her large, lanky brother would beat the shit out of him, no doubt, but he exercised self-control and just bit his tongue. As soon as he was seated across from her, he nearly drooled at the sight of her supple, round breasts pressed together as she folded her arms in her lap.

She really looked sublime…

But he didn’t want to be pegged as a horny pervert, so he finally got to talking to her.

~0~0~0~0~0

Gavin found he really, _really_ was enjoying learning about Marissa.

Apparently, she had another younger brother, though he still lived at home with her parents. She graduated from a college in Canada, and she’d been just traveling to Detroit for her Christmas break before heading to Canada again and looking for more work. She’d studied traveling and tourism, so she told him, and she had a lot of interesting stories to tell him about her education and line of work. She was an avid reader, an animal lover, a fantastic chef, and she was absolutely gorgeous in Gavin’s eyes.

He also liked that she wasn’t involved with any other man romantically at the moment, which left the door wide open for a one-night stand. Diving deeper into his questions to keep the conversation going, they spoke for another fifteen minutes when Gavin felt parched from all the talking.

“Shit,” he chuckled lightly, “sorry, been talkin’ your head off! Gonna get us a drink, okay? What would you like?”

Immediately, she gasped, and her eyes went wide. “Gavin! Don’t even worry about it!!” slowly rising from her chair, she pointed at the bar, “you’ve done so much for me already!!! I’ll get the drinks, okay?”

Ever so grateful that he wouldn’t have to walk all the way to the bar and bump into more drunk people, Gavin sighed in relief, “Oh thank you!! I’ll just have a Jack Daniel’s, okay?”

“You bet, cutie.”

Gavin’s heart skipped many beats!! She called him ‘cutie’!!! That definitely meant she was interested in him!! Heart sailing and soaring high above, he suddenly felt years younger again as he waited at the table. She thought he was cute, which meant he _still_ had his charms! He wasn’t old!! He wasn’t worthless!! And he certainly wasn’t—

“Here we are!!!”

She’d returned with the drinks in no time, and she sat down in front of him again while winking. “Drink up while it’s fresh!!”

Holding his bottle, Gavin winked back as he trumpeted out in zeal, “Oh, you didn’t even need to ask, darling.”

“Cheers!!!”

They clinked bottles, and Gavin immediately downed his drink as quickly as he could; ever so eager to get to know more about Marissa. He felt Nines’ eyes on him from somewhere across the pub as he talked excitedly with Marissa, but he ignored the android and hoped he was having a good time in his own weird way. It was only fair…

The night wore on, and the pub grew darker and darker, and yet Gavin drank and finished the rest of the contents of his bottle.

Odd, he’d never felt so energetic and lively after having an entire bottle of alcohol in one go…and yet, he did!!! Well, he also felt rather…hot…

His throat tightened, and he coughed for a moment.

Marissa smiled, “You good?”

“Yeah…I’m…ha…I’m good…” He was so hot…

Why was the room spinning?! Was he that drunk already?!

Gazing around, Gavin felt a heady rush of excitement churning and coursing from the top of his head, all the way down to his toes. It swam and sped back up, however, and a delicious heat gathered right between his legs.

Fuck!!! He was getting aroused so randomly!!!

Trying to cover it up, he crossed his legs quickly, but it wasn’t working; he was fully erect in minutes.

Suddenly, everything around him also seemed…too loud…too colorful…too crazy!!! Though the lights were dim, everything was too bright for Gavin’s eyes, and he held a hand up to shield his sore and sensitive eyes from it all. A steady, dull pounding was in his ears, and he recoiled as he felt a headache already brewing. The back of his skull ached like someone had bashed him over the head with a brick, and his thighs and knees felt so weak…almost like jelly…

What was happening?!

His eyes were watery and blurry, but he couldn’t pay attention to anything else when he had a raging hard on.

He had to get rid of it.

Holding up a hand, he excused himself, and ran towards the men’s washroom as quickly as he could before he collapsed. And did he ever feel like collapsing. The lights, the sounds; everything was magnificently chaotic. The dancing feet on the floor felt like giants stomping around, and his eardrums ached even more. He knocked and slammed into a few swaying bodies, but he eventually was able to burst his way through the washroom door. Though it felt like he was walking leagues under the sea, Gavin felt the world going by in slow motion.

His fingers trembled and tingled, but he was able to head into an unoccupied bathroom stall in no time. Falling against the right side of the wall, he barely was able to hold himself up with a hand, the other already fisting his prominent erection.

_Please…make it stop…make it stop…it is soooo hot!!!_

In his delirious state, he hadn’t realized that he’d left the stall door wide open and unlocked. Not long after he’d headed in, a soft padding of footsteps sounded behind him, but Gavin was unable to hear it. He was focused with how hot he felt, and how tight his clothes suddenly were…he wanted and needed to take them off!!!

Wheezing out garbled gibberish and nonsense, he tried grasping at his clothes and clawing them off, but it was no use; he was too weak, and his limbs were tingling so badly, that he was unable to coordinate them properly. Once or twice as he’d been in the middle of unzipping and unbuckling his jeans, his fingers slipped badly, and he only could cry and whine out in terror as his cock throbbed and ached.

_Help…help…so hot…_

A deep voice suddenly breathed against his ear, “Would you like some help?”

Throwing his head back, Gavin cried out uncontrollably, “Yessssssssssssss…”

_Help me…_

* * *

The Mangled Mermaid: 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh yeah, Gavin's in trouble O_o


	42. Thank You Again!!

*Squeals and leaps up and down for joy like an obese whale trying to twerk for the purposes of attracting a mate* 🌺😭🎀💘💖💋💞😵

You wonderful people!!! Our dearly and superbly talented friend Ye_Olde_Taffer has done it again!! This beautiful person nailed the tattoo of Nines, as well as Gavin’s tsundreness (if that’s even a damn word) on POINT! Nailed it like a pro!!! If I could, I’d hug you to bits, my friend! I absolutely am cherishing this piece as much as the first one, and I hope you can keep the art coming!! You are a wonderful individual, and I know my readers are also equally as overjoyed and ecstatic for your kindness and gifts!!😥🎆🎇🧨✨🙏😰

Everyone, please support this beautiful artist as much as you can by visiting their A03 profile, dropping a lovely kudos, as well as following their Instagram. They do other art aside from Detroit Become Human, and I feel like this artist should be supported generously! They are absolutely amazing, and their work is truly an uplifting inspiration!💞💞💞💞😭

Links to their A03: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ye_Olde_Taffer/pseuds/Ye_Olde_Taffer

Link to the actual beautiful piece: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22212601

Link to their Instagram and other fantastic art! : https://gramho.com/profile/jjenkinsonart/8979501302

I do appreciate all your kindness, my friend, and I hope I can keep some ideas flying your way!! You are a gem, as always!!


	43. The Intentions of Others

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heed my warnings, please. *See below*

I was going to wait another 3 or so days before I posted this chapter, but since it’s literally one of those chapters that comes out of a nasty cliff hanger, I think it’s better to have this out NOW before people squirm in their seats wondering what’s going to happen to poor Gavin.

That being said, YES, Gavin’s in trouble, but I’d like to include a small warning right now for attempted rape. That does NOT mean he gets raped, and the second warning here is for influence of drugs/aphrodisiacs. First of all, before ANYONE gets on my ass and thinks ‘Oh shit, she’s at it again’, I must highly emphasize: there is NO rape. Do not worry, please. Secondly, I feel I tagged this part appropriately and effectively as best as I could, so if the contents of this chapter MAY upset you, please ignore it and wait for one more chapter to pass before the sexually graphic content is done with.

I hope this doesn’t offend anyone, but I feel I have to tiptoe around this issue sometimes, which kind of isn’t something I am fond of doing. I know most of us are very mature adults and we know what we’re reading, but this is just a last-minute reminder just in case, anyway.

Thanks for understanding, and on with the show.

* * *

He couldn’t see the shadowy figure properly. All he knew was that the hands roaming all over his chest felt so damn good. It was what his treacherous body wanted and everything he needed. The rigid firmness of the heat of his own tumescent cock betrayed him, causing Gavin to lean back against the firm, toned chest while he let out a deep, sexual moan. Panting in frustration when those fingers toyed with his nipples straining over his shirt, he tossed his head back and hissed out, “Pleeeaaseee…”

“Shh,” the deep growl came at him all at once, and it sent shivers down his spine upon hearing it. “I’ve got you…don’t worry…”

He couldn’t see anything, even though he strained his eyes and squinted. But that smell…that smell was familiar…old pine and apples…

Grunting, Gavin cried out, “Rooooberrrt?”

Once more, a deep chuckle rang out in the tiny, cramped stall. “Sure, if you wanna go ahead and call me that, even though it’s not my real name, then go for it.”

Cooing inelegantly, Gavin found he was unable to move as those hands ghosted along down the length of his back. They rested on the swell of his ass, and after a moment, they groped him pretty roughly. A split second later, those hands emboldened, and a vulgar slap had been bestowed upon his ass before he was thoroughly fondled again. It was a strong grab meant to inflict pain, but in his current state, it felt so good…

“Mooore,” he desperately panted out, arching his back and ass against the taller male, “I waaant moooree…”

_No!! No, I don’t want this!! Make this go away!!_

Internally, his mind had raged war on the increasing demands of his out of control body. Completely defenseless and unable to string the words together in a coherent manner, Gavin only whined pathetically while trembling weakly.

A strong hand suddenly wrapped around his neck, and Gavin’s head was forced to press up against the wall before himself. He didn’t mind it, however; the coldness of the stall wall felt nice against his overheated body. He moaned out his pleasure in that contrasting feeling, and he found he couldn’t even move or say anything when the hands groped his ass one more time before they slithered over to his front. His erection was cupped, and Gavin nearly came in his jeans.

Robert only chuckled sadistically as he whispered out to Gavin, “Don’t worry, I’ll be gentle on you since you were dumb enough to trust me and my _sister_…” His hand journeyed up to Gavin’s buckle, and he tugged at the clasp as he hissed cruelly, “I was watching you the entire time, and oh boy, you sure treated her well thinking you could get a piece of that. Fuckin’ hilarious, buddy.”

Though a part of Gavin’s mind that was still ‘conscious’ and not affected by whatever was going on with himself currently recognized those words as dangerous and malicious, his body couldn’t be controlled enough to respond appropriately. There was nothing he could do except bend and give in to what was happening. He only knew pleasure and release, and that was all he wanted. That was at the very top of his needs, and even though he was scared, he was also feeling so wanted and needed…

A loud ‘zip’ sounded, followed by his belt slowly coming undone.

“I want to hear you scream,” Robert growled viciously, trying to sneak a hand down Gavin’s pants slickly, “but I guess we’ll have to make do with what we can for now…”

Gavin palmed the wall, both in an attempt at getting away, but also begging for more. He knew he wasn’t in control over his own actions anymore, and he was beyond petrified and alone. His treacherous body screamed out that this felt good, that he wanted and needed this, yet his mind took on a combative approach entirely. Through the fog and haze, it yelled out to him that this _wasn’t_ what he wanted at all, and that he had to get a hold of himself!!

…If only he could…

_Help…_

Groaning in a deeply sexual manner, Robert spat, “Shame…I bet your voice sounds a lot better when you’re screaming…”

_Help me…help me…_

~0~0~0~0~0

Nines was beyond concerned. He’d checked the tables and seats for Gavin and Marissa, but they were both gone. The night was colder than ever, darker than before, and even though they were still indoors, it was still pitch black to him. Without Gavin being in plain sight for him, Nines really started losing himself to his worries and frustrations. Initially, though he felt quite irritated by the fact that he had to stand by and allow Gavin to do whatever it was he was going to be doing with Marissa, the android respected his partner enough to allow him privacy, time, as well as space. However, it was just so unlike Gavin to slip away without at least saying so…

Something was awfully wrong.

He’d seen Gavin drinking and chatting with Marissa, but after that, as he’d been trying to give them both their time and privacy, a foul-smelling man at the bar had tried buying him a beer in the hopes of hitting on him successfully. It’d taken Nines a solid half hour to rid himself of his potential suitor, but when he finally had, Gavin and Marissa were both gone.

Trying not to panic, Nines assumed they’d perhaps really hit it off and were being…intimate somewhere, but something in his instinct and highly observant nature told him that theory didn’t work…for one, Gavin’s coat was _still_ draped across the back of the chair where he was last seated, and in the middle of the cold, icy winter night, there was no conceivable way Gavin was out without his warm coat.

Something was horribly wrong, and Nines could no longer ignore it when the signs were blaring off in his mind like sirens.

Racing up to the abandoned table, Nines picked up Gavin’s discarded coat, scanning it quickly and nervously. Nothing was on it, strangely, and that made Nines worry even more. He despised being a slave to worries and fears. He could never do a proper job investigating when he was as worried as he was currently, and he nearly slapped himself for losing control. Reminding himself to keep calm and pay attention, he scanned the table, the floors, everything…

Just when he’d given up all hope, his scanners caught something rather peculiar…

Bending down so he could look at the left edge of the table, Nines caught a dried-up drop of alcohol. This was normal for a bar, however, upon closer inspection, he saw that it wasn’t just 100% pure alcohol…

Touching it with his fingers, he then brought his middle and index finger up to his mouth, and his tongue darted out. Tasting it and sampling the substance carefully, he allowed it to waft into his mouth and past his system. A second later, every red alert went off, blaring loudly as he internally panicked.

As he suspected, this wasn’t pure alcohol; there was a strong rush of grayanotoxin as well as yohimbine. Both were drugs sold on the black market, and acted as aphrodisiacs mean to enhance virility and erections in adult males…

Growling at the back of his throat, Nines scanned the rest of the pub hurriedly now that he knew Gavin had the toxic substances in his system. Fuck!!! He knew he never should’ve left him alone with that strange woman!!!

Cursing himself for his lack of caution exercised in this matter, Nines searched and searched quickly. Nearly screaming when he caught human body temperatures radiating in the men’s washroom, his eyes zoned and zeroed in on the toxic aphrodisiacs emanating from the second stall in the washroom…Gavin!

Tearing straight away for the door, Nines ignored odd looks of concern thrown his way. Bursting into the washroom wildly, he made sure to slam and lock the door after himself. He didn’t need anyone else interfering in his plans.

The entire bathroom was empty, thankfully, but Nines didn’t find that soothing in the slightest. In no time at all, he saw two pairs of legs peeking at him from beneath the second stall, and the door wasn’t locked…

When he heard huffing and labored breaths followed by a high-pitched moan, he lost it.

Seeing violent shares of red, Nines savagely kicked the stall door open with a brutally strong leg aimed in the center of the door. It smashed open, slamming against the back of the taller male currently almost on top of a sweaty, moaning, panting Gavin Reed. As the tall male crashed down to his knees, Nines took in the sight of Gavin. He was terribly disheveled; his hair was messy, beads of hot sweat ran down the sides of his neck, cheeks, forehead, and stained the back of his shirt. His cheeks were red, he was panting labored breaths, and he could hardly stand on his own. Body trembling and shaking, he pressed a hand against the front of his half-open jeans…

With a monstrous roar, Nines bent down and grabbed the other male by his shirt collar. Holding him up so strongly that his legs dangled in the air, Nines slammed his back up against the wall of the tiny stall. Seething, he screamed out, “WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU DO TO HIM!?”

Grinning even though he’d been caught red-handed, the male with the uppercut and vicious, light brown eyes sneered, “Nothing he didn’t want!” Reaching down with his hands, he tried prying Nines’ fingers off his red dress shirt, but it was no use. Nines held on tightly, and he yanked the man’s tie as hard as he could.

Choking, the man gasped, “L-leave us alone, we-we w-w-were about t-t-to ha-aave some fuuun…”

“You fucking animal!” Nines roared at the top of his voice box, “YOU WERE GOING TO RAPE HIM! YOU STUPID FUCK!”

The man wheezed with wide eyes, “H-h-how—”

Screaming again, Nines tugged roughly on the man’s tie. Like a dog on a tight, short leash, he was yanked forward violently. Lashing out with his right fist aimed for the man’s nose, Nines punched him at least twice in quick jabs before kneeing him in the stomach. As he gasped for air while nearly crumbling down weakly, Nines felt he wasn’t done making his point, yet. Before the perverted predator could crawl out of the stall, Nines gripped him by the back of the neck and snarled down into his ear.

“Let me give you something that will take care of your raging testosterone…” With that stated, he righted the man up on his feet again by bracing him on his shoulder, and he kneed him once more harshly…right in the damn balls. It’d been a most perfect aim; the man cried out pathetically, eyes rolling back into his head, and he crashed to the bathroom floor in a curled fetal position.

Nines tilted his head down at him, reaching up to brush his messy bangs out of his eyes. “Perhaps that will calm you down for a while,” he hissed ferociously, and then turned to Gavin.

Hands outstretched, he caught the weak, delirious detective before he could fall. “I’ve got you, Gavin, I’ve got you…don’t worry, I’m taking you home…” He then began carrying Gavin Reed moaning and writhing in his arms out of the bathroom and right out of _The_ _Mangled Mermaid_ while many people stood by and watched in shock and raw fear.

For the first time in years, the stoic, dour RK900 was at a loss for words, but he thanked whatever powers above that he’d reached Gavin in time. It hurt him to even think about what would’ve happened if he’d arrived just a few seconds too late…

~0~0~0~0~0

Nines put the pieces together as he’d driven Gavin back to his apartment that same night. As he powered on through the cold, wet snow and soggy, busy streets, Nines concluded that ‘Marissa’ and ‘Robert’ weren’t really brother and sister at all. While driving, he was able to dig up some criminal records for both adults, and he discovered that they were in fact lovers who prowled through various cities and preyed upon both single men and women. The malefactors worked as a sadistic team, with ‘Marissa’-also known as Rachael Lavine-luring in men and women with the hopes of sex and intimacy, and then when she’d gained their trust, she would spike their drinks or meals with drugs. ‘Robert’-also known as Joel Fierstein-would then rape the unsuspecting victims, and the partners in crime would finally both run off without a trace.

Nines had encountered a huge problem recognizing them at first in spite of them both still holding a lengthy criminal record. Cursing himself for being careless not to notice the minor warning signs when they’d first revealed themselves, the android seethed over the fact that both Rachael and Joel had ‘shape-shifted’ and morphed their physical appearances quite drastically in comparison to their photos and mugshots even dating back to two years ago. That had been why he couldn’t recognize them, but they’d also distracted him well enough…

Bastards.

As much as Nines wanted to turn the car around, head back to _The_ _Mangled Mermaid_, and beat the daylights out of both Rachel and Joel, he found he had other pressing, urgent matters to attend to.

Gavin was suffering terribly. The drugs had really taken a nasty effect on his body, and it didn’t seem to be wearing off anytime soon…not unless he gave in to the perforce demand for his bodily release.

Amphetamine and methamphetamine-both phenethylamine derivatives-were known to increase libido and cause frequent or prolonged erections as potential side effects, particularly at high supratherapeutic doses where sexual hyperexcitability and hypersexuality occurred in males especially. As Nines researched, like Red Ice, the only way to obtain the damn drugs was through the black market, and this terrified him. He had no idea what was going to happen and how Gavin’s body was going to react to the puissant drug even more. Had the drug in any other way been tampered with?!

Once he reached his apartment and deposited his squirming bundle of sweat and lust that was Gavin Reed on the black coverlet, Nines turned to face the moaning detective, his face almost a caricature of raw fear. He could do nothing but examine the human for a moment. Noticing how Gavin’s skin was flushed, he was whimpering softly and running his hands over his body. Gripping himself between his legs, he turned and began grinding his hips into the mattress.

Nines winced as whispered to Gavin in the darkness of the room. “Reed? Can you hear me?”

Only a loud moan was his reply.

Nines pressed on, despite the fact that this made him horribly uncomfortable. “Reed, you were given an aphrodisiac,” he explained as carefully as he could while keeping a close watch on the torpid human. “It was a very powerful one, by the looks of it…I’m sorry.”

The words rolled right off Gavin. Nines knew that anything he said would fall on deaf ears, so he stopped trying. Furthermore, natural lust could be controlled. This couldn’t, as it wasn’t natural and normal. He was a fool to think that he could somehow talk Gavin into a state of calm once again just by his voice and words alone.

Nines turned to fully contemplate the drugged, indolent man on his bed. Gavin was still whimpering desperately and thrashing from side to side. The didactic android knew the only way to help in this scenario would be to remove the fetters presently tormenting the struggling detective.

Clutching at his own arm to hold back, Nines hissed softly through clenched teeth. “Ahh fuck, why me?” But there was no help for it, and there was nothing he could do. As messed-up as this all was, he had no real desire to add to Gavin’s torment. He reluctantly approached the bed, the entire time hoping the bastards who’d done this to Gavin would defray for their heinous crime.

“Reed?” he beckoned him softly, “can you hear me?”

At once, Gavin hissed out while clamping his thighs together tightly. “Pleeeeaaaseee, heeeelp!”

Nines observed him for a moment, and then when he hadn’t said a word, Gavin groaned out again while tugging on the sheets and blankets. Nines’ presence in the room with him penetrated the fog enclosing his brain. “Niiines!” he cried desperately, “help me, please help me, I think I’m dying!! I’m soooo hot!!”

Sitting down next to him gently, Nines winced. God, he was no hand at giving comfort, but something had to be done.

Gavin rolled towards him and felt Nines’ hard thigh against his chest and stomach. Incapable of rational thought, he clutched at his leg in panic and heard the android gasp. He grasped Gavin’s wrists and pushed his arms back down. As he did however, his own arm brushed against the other male’s hardened nipples through his sweaty, thin shirt. Right away, Gavin squealed.

“What is happening to me, Nines?!” he cried out in shock, chewing on his lower lip vigorously.

“Reed, I’m sorry to tell you that you have been the victim of a cruel instance of attempted serial rape,” Nines explained as empathetically as he could. “The woman you thought you were going to spend time with put an aphrodisiac in your drink. You are not dying; you are merely aroused.” It was difficult for Nines to force the last word out. He was not in the habit of talking about sex-however obliquely-with people under the influence of something.

Gavin moaned, “How long will this last?!?”

Amazed that he could still talk coherently, Nines sighed, “Several hours, I should think.”

“Hours?!” Gavin craned his neck as he cried woefully, “I c-can’t stand it! Please, Nines, help me, I know you can help me!!!” He pleaded a few more times, and Nines began really reeling back.

The normally reserved android was at a complete loss. There was only one way to help Gavin, but a part of Nines wanted to flat out refuse. It was _still_ wrong, and he was going to be just as bad as the criminals who’d preyed upon Gavin in the first place…

But upon taking another look at his flushed, pleading face, heaving chest with the hardened nipples, and that lovely stomach slightly exposed when Gavin stretched and arched his body on the bed, he saw Gavin just as he really was; not as the memory Nines had tried preserving and creating of him.

Gasping, Nines asked himself internally, _Are you seriously considering this?_

Without even hesitating, a tiny voice said: _Yes, yes I am._

If he did nothing, then Gavin would suffer throughout the night. That meant Nines in turn would suffer, forced to hear the aroused male begging him for help. Tiresome. Not to mention cruel. Cruel wasn’t something he was, and he didn’t support cruelty. The memories of himself being intimate with Gavin up until the point that had motivated them to head to the bar paired with the sounds and sights of Gavin writhing and panting on his bed in innocent lust was enough to make him instantly hard.

_Fuck!!! _

Nines thought to himself, _This wasn’t in my plans!_ Though having Gavin writhing on the bed wasn’t in his plans for tonight, either. Mentally, he damned both Rachel and Joel to hell.

Sighing heavily, Nines knew he had to help Gavin through this night, but he had no intention of actually penetrating him. Nines considered himself an honorable man, and he only wished to work hard to redeem himself of past sins. He wasn’t going to molest anyone. The best he could do was guide Gavin to orgasm once, and it would still be humiliating for the drugged male once he regained his senses. Still, it would be much less so than if he did it by touching the man or going further…

When Gavin felt his weight leave the bed, he sat up like a spring. Unthinkingly, he threw his arms around Nines’ waist, pressing his face into his stomach. “P-please, Niiines! Don’t leave me like this! Stay with meee!!” He whined, “I’m so frightened, pleaaasee! I…I…” he trailed off, shaking violently as he panted heavily once again.

Nines stood still in shock. The sensation of Gavin’s lips moving against his lower belly combined with his hot breath made his erection even harder, if that were possible. He closed his eyes, trying to maintain control. _You can’t fuck him, Nines, _he reminded himself. _Don’t take it too far! Don’t even try, because this isn’t what he really wants from you!! _The reminder didn’t help much with Gavin’s warm lips only inches from his cock. Nines was unable to make himself push Gavin away, though he knew he should have. Against his will, he was quite enjoying the sensation.

Gavin sensed his hesitation. Face flushed and eyes half-lidded slits, he looked up at Nines. The android’s eyes were closed, his lips parted. It made him look vulnerable, as did the fact that he wasn’t wearing his black robes or gothic clothes; he was dressed only in black jeans and a black long-sleeve casual top. For the first time, Gavin saw Nines as a man; not a machine or an android. Elated, he realized that he was quite sexy. Immediately, Gavin acted on instinct. He got to his feet and pressed his heated body against Nines, wrapping his arms around his neck. Before Nines had a chance to react, Gavin pulled him down and kissed the taciturn android the way he’d only kissed prior girlfriends before.

To Gavin’s amazement, Nines’ lips were hard against his own, unyielding. The detective felt his body stiffen, his hands going to Nines’ shoulders. As they kissed, Gavin realized Nines was about to push him away. _NO! _His mind screamed, and he pressed his hips against Nines’ in desperation. God! He could feel his hardness, so damn big and warm…

In his normal state of mind, cocks-regardless of size-would have frightened Gavin. But the aphrodisiac had clouded his mind and released his animal instincts. Now, his only desire was to be touched, caressed, brought to climax. Gavin ground his hips against his partner’s cock, trying to bring some relief to his over-stimulated sex.

It was too much for Nines, now. Giving in to his darker side, he crushed Gavin to himself and returned his kiss. He plunged his tongue into Gavin’s mouth, and he met it with his own ardent passion. The detective moaned against his lips, and the sound spurred Nines on. His hand went to Gavin’s breasts and squeezed to the point of pain, before loosening his grip and caressing away the ache. His palm brushed the human’s nipples in slow, sensual circles, causing Gavin to arch his back to press himself more firmly against his hand. Nines’ lips left Gavin’s, causing the highly aroused male to whimper in protest. However, Nines didn’t disappoint Gavin. He ripped Gavin’s shirt straight apart, the buttons flying everywhere, and pressed his lips to Gavin’s now exposed nipples.

Through his heightened state, Gavin could feel Nines’ tongue slipping back and forth across his nipple before drawing it into his mouth and sucking it hard. Gavin’s breathing stopped, then resumed with a muffled sob as Nines transferred his oral attentions to his other hardened nipple.

“Oooh, Nines,” he breathed and stressed the android’s name like a holy prayer a few times to the point where Nines wondered if that was the only word Gavin knew at the moment.

Nines straightened himself and looked at the flustered Gavin. His lips were swollen from their kiss, and his dark blue-grey eyes closed, tears trickling from beneath the lids. Seeing it all so raw before himself, Nines pulled Gavin close and whispered into his ear, “I promise I won’t take this too far, Gavin…” There was no way he was going to do what needed to be done with Gavin even slightly worrying about being penetrated. Nines didn’t want to frighten the other man; he just wanted to relieve him of his burdens and suffering. And he definitely needed to hurry and give the human some relief right about now. Without even scanning Gavin, Nines knew that his cock was probably already painful with need, thanks to the drugs he’d been given. If he waited longer, his touch would be close to agony for Gavin. Right about now, all things considered, Gavin didn’t need to have pain entwined with desire.

Whispering some more, Nines assured Gavin, “I’ll take it slowly and gently—arrgh!!!” He’d been interrupted when Gavin bit him on the neck roughly, a sign for Nines to shut up and get on with it.

_So much for taking it gently,_ the android thought with a certain rueful amusement.

Nines then picked Gavin up in his arms and lay him on his bed gently. Gavin opened his eyes and saw Nines bending over him, his expression inscrutable. If Nines didn’t know better, he would’ve thought he imagined feeling his aroused cock being touched by Gavin’s trembling hands.

“Do you trust me, Gavin?” he murmured, and Gavin slowly nodded. He lay himself beside the warm male and pulled him into his arms. He kissed Gavin’s lips once, gently, and then Nines felt Gavin’s breath trail across his cheek to his earlobe. Wanting to take charge, Nines moved to kiss Gavin’s neck, and then allowed his tongue to lick Gavin’s ear. It sent another rush of heat through the other male’s entire body. Apparently, Gavin’s ears were extremely sensitive; he voiced that he loved it when Nines tongued and licked his ear, playing with it sensually and orally. The detective was too distracted to realize that in the midst of it all, Nines had pulled his jeans down past his thighs with one hand.

At least, Gavin hadn’t noticed it until he felt one of Nines’ hands slip inside his underwear to cup his dick. At his touch, Gavin felt as if he were being burned at the stake, and loving every second of it. The heel of Nines’ hand pressed against the twitching head of his cock, firmly massaging and stroking it in small circles. With his other hand, Nines made it so that one long finger slipped between Gavin’s cheeks. Though Nines didn’t push through the tight passage there, he made sure to move his finger in those same small circles. All he was doing was rubbing and circling Gavin, more so to create a sensation for the lusty detective that this was indeed real and happening.

Thrashing about, Gavin lost himself in rounds of passionate screams. Meanwhile, Nines was fighting to remain detached and failing miserably. It had taken every bit of his self-control not to slip that same finger inside Gavin’s tight passage between his legs. The feeling of the male’s tight hole encasing his finger excited him nearly beyond control, and Nines showed how ecstatic he was by stroking Gavin quickly. He felt Gavin’s cock growing fuller and thicker in his hand. Detachment was impossible. The best he could manage was to resist the evil part of himself that whispered:_ Fuck him! Take him now! Make him yours! _

Nines’ cock was throbbing with long suppressed lust, and though he would not take Gavin, he could not resist pressing himself against his thighs. Watching the detective’s face express the intense pleasure he was experiencing was torture, yet Nines couldn’t look away. No one would ever call Gavin handsome, Nines thought possessively. He’d heard of some of the best compliments their colleagues had said before to the detective, but that wasn’t going to happen anymore. They would _never_ see Gavin like this, Nines thought. Like this, he was breathtaking. The android greedily watched Gavin’s face for signs that his climax was approaching; eager to see how he looked when he came. He didn’t have long to wait.

The drug had over-sensitized every part of Gavin’s body. After only a minute or so, he felt the pleasure building to a height he’d never known before. Instinctively, his hips moved in time with Nines’ strokes, searching for the final ecstasy he somehow knew was there. He wasn’t disappointed. As Gavin’s powerful orgasm washed over himself, he cried out for Nines incoherently.

At once, Nines’ hand was drenched with evidence of Gavin’s pleasure as he came in a broken sob. Over and over, waves of pleasure went through him, and before it was over, Nines found that Gavin was calling out his name like a divine prayer one final time.


	44. Animal Instincts

Same warning as the previous chapter applies, guys. Some sex goes on here from an aphrodisiac-induced high, but I can’t say it is ‘dubious consent’ (you’ll see why). If you want, think of it as MILDLY dubious. Hope this won’t make people uncomfortable, but I tried to edit this scene the best way I could after a bad day at work, and after a super long day being hella sick.

* * *

As Gavin trembled from the aftershocks, Nines gently removed his finger from between Gavin’s legs, but kept his hand inside his underwear. He very tenderly stroked Gavin’s cock, wringing every drop of pleasure Gavin could have gleaned from his first shared orgasm. Perhaps it was conceit, but Nines found he didn’t want Gavin’s next sexual experiences with anyone else to even compare with this. A thought suddenly went through his mind so quickly that he wasn’t consciously aware of it.

_There won’t be an ‘anyone else’. No one else deserves him…I want him to be only mine…_

As the aftereffects of his climax slowly faded, rational thought returned, and Gavin was horrified. Seeing himself practically naked save for his underwear, he sat up in the bed as he screamed, “What have I done?!” He knew he didn’t blame Nines in the least. He was lucid enough on some level to know he’d begged Nines for help. Gavin had even literally thrown himself at another man; Nines, of all people! The old fear of his android co-worker returned. He had never wasted an opportunity to shy away from Gavin and sometimes put him down a few times in the past. What had just happened would be the ultimate weapon to him, now. How he would gloat over it!

Overrun with shame at his actions, Gavin glumly pulled Nines’ hand out of his underwear and squirmed away from him. Jumping from the bed, he eyed the ruined remains of his shirt there on the floor.

What had happened?!

Right away, he demanded, “Nines! How did I end up in here?!”

“I don’t expect you to remember,” Nines stated as he rose from the bed and started pacing tantalizingly close towards Gavin. “What you were given tampered with your memory, which is why I won’t bother with going into specifics right now,” he nearly spat in pure anger as he remembered what had been unjustly done to Gavin. It was his own humiliation at losing control that was talking more than anything, but Nines felt the need to at least explain that.

Eyeing Gavin nervously, he assured gently, “I’m not angry with you, please don’t misunderstand me.”

Gavin whimpered, “I’m not mad at you either, and I’m not even close to being disgusted by what has happened.”

A pessimistic voice in Nines’ head threw out a tiny, morose warning the android quickly tried repressing. _Of course you’re not mad, Gavin; sex feels good for anyone, and right now, the need to come is all you want._

“I was afraid you would use the events here to disgrace me,” Nines admitted, shoving his negativity deeply down his throat instead of allowing it to rear its ugly head here where it wasn’t welcome and didn’t belong.

Truthfully, as Gavin purposefully drew himself away from the bed, he hissed, “I was afraid you’d do that to me…”

Even in his aphrodisiac-induced haze, however, he had enjoyed knowing it was Nines touching him, and he dreaded the moment Nines would rip the joy he had given to Gavin in shreds. But it seemed that Nines merely wanted to help, after all.

Nines pressed on, “I will alert the authorities about this infernal couple, as I found out that they haven’t even been attending therapy, nor have they reported to their parole officer for a few months, and now they’re hunting for new victims.” The harshness of his voice made Gavin cringe.

It was too much for the detective to handle all at once. Nodding quickly, Gavin peered over his shoulder as he announced, “Umm, yeah, I’m j-just gonna g-go for a shower, Nines, and then—”

Blue eyes falling down between Gavin’s legs for a moment, Nines sneered back up at Gavin quickly. “I truly hate to disappoint you, but it’s not over,” he growled thickly. “This is merely a brief respite from the drug’s effects…can’t you feel it beginning to take hold of you all over again?”

Dramatically, Gavin’s eyes widened. Immediately, he knew that Nines was right! Now, he could feel his body becoming warm again, and he could feel the familiar tingle in his stomach and cock. He tried to conceal his erection, but it was no use.

The drug’s effects were again taking hold, and Nines could see the renewed gleam of desire in Gavin’s soft grey-blue eyes. Shifting back towards the bed, he threw Gavin a provocative glance. “Come here,” he said to Gavin in a much gentler tone. The word caused a shiver to go through the aroused male, which Nines’ sharp eyes didn’t miss. He held out his hand. “Come,” he beckoned again.

Gavin’s knees trembled and wobbled, though he surprisingly didn’t crash to the floor in a dull heap. Deep down, he knew he’d come rather close to being victimized, and this notion petrified him to no end. Had Nines not been there…had Nines not been watching…

Shrugging these horrible thoughts and images associated, Gavin instead focused on Nines. The tall, powerful android stood before him, holding out his hand while patiently allowing Gavin to take some time in order to compose himself and make an appropriate decision. The way his masculine hand just stood out before the lust-filled, hazy detective seemed to neither beckon him near, nor was it discouraging him.

The decision was Gavin’s to make. In the middle of all this, Gavin realized that Nines was giving him his power back, and he was making it obvious that this was all dependent on Gavin’s decision. He had the choice; he was free to do as he wanted.

He’d decided in no time at all, and majority of it had nothing much to do with his overheated body. As long as Nines wasn’t exhibiting an imperious, intimidating manner, Gavin found he was drawn more to the tall male.

_Nines is warm,_ Gavin thought to himself forlornly, _he’s gentle, and he’s safe…_

A thought he’d tried formulating into a verbal message unfortunately never made it past his lips; the drug was already overpowering all his other senses and control. Perhaps he didn’t need to really say anything to Nines, however; the android seemed to _feel_ everything.

_Please take care of me, Nines…_

Gavin went obediently.

~0~0~0~0~0

Nines was in hell. Three times in the past two hours, he’d brought Gavin to orgasm using only his hands. The android’s infernal cock was hard as stone; his balls throbbed with dull pain. He stubbornly refused to allow himself to fuck Gavin, though he knew that he would not deny him while in the grip of the drug. His kisses told Nines so. However, in the brief moments of lucidity after each orgasm, Gavin turned his face away from Nines and would not speak. This last time, he’d even wept a little.

Nines had removed his own clothes later in the night when Gavin had cried out that his skin was too sensitive to bear feeling them. Now that Nines was entirely naked like Gavin, his gaze roved hungrily over the detective’s nude form while he momentarily relaxed. Gavin was truly exquisite with his creamy skin, small-but-toned-waist, slim hips and stiff pink nipples. Each time he climaxed, his handsome face was transformed into stunning beauty.

_And I am the only person in the world who has seen this_, Nines thought possessively.

Suddenly, Gavin turned to him to catch him staring. Propping himself up on an elbow to look into his partner’s eyes, the passion was back in his tear-filled eyes. “Nines, it’s not enough,” he whined flatly.

Still under the spell of his own lust, it took a while for Nines to click out, “What’s not enough?”

Gavin flushed, though whether with desire or embarrassment, it was rather unclear. “I mean…” he paused, staring at Nines’ large hands, “your hands. I mean…it feels great, what you’re doing to me with your hands, but it’s not enough. I want more. I want…” Gavin was unable to say it, but his gaze fell right between Nines’ legs.

In the midst of their ‘entanglement’, Nines had made sure to place a small pillow over where his cock was obviously straining up thickly. He didn’t want to run into any accidents that Gavin-in his crazed lust-could potentially cause…or himself, for that matter.

But now, Gavin was slowly and surely sliding the pillow out from between Nines’ tightly clamped thighs…

With a warning hiss, Nines couldn’t stop his hips from jerking towards Gavin’s hand, nor could he prevent the groan that escaped his throat. “Stop, Gavin!” he snapped out in anger, but of course, that was as sensible as arguing with a brick wall. Nines couldn’t believe he’d found the strength to gently push Gavin’s hand away when the other man had tried touching his now exposed cock.

“You fool!” he growled as he placed Gavin’s hand back down at his own side, “you don’t even know what you want right now!”

Gavin was quick to argue, “I do!!”

Nines shook his head wildly, “No, Gavin, I’m not doing it!”

Temper suddenly flaring, Gavin screamed, “Why not? Aren’t I attractive enough for you? What is _so_ wrong with me that you’d reject me?!”

Upon hearing this, Nines nearly laughed. Instead, he opted for gripping the detective’s face in a strong hand, and he pressed their foreheads together. “Not attractive enough?!” He snarled as he stared deeply into Gavin’s eyes, “If you only knew how you look when you’re so aroused and angry!! A model would be envious, Gavin!!”

Gavin whined petulantly, “Then why don’t you want to—”

While battling for his self-control before it all slipped away from himself, Nines repeated, “I told you that what you’re asking me to do is rape, Gavin!!! Already, we did enough, and I swear, I’m feeling like absolute shit because I took advantage of you!”

Appearing to be momentarily guilty, Gavin slowly nodded, but the effect of the drug had grown too strong again for any other emotion to last very long. Almost rolling himself on top of Nines, he hissed, “But what you’re doing isn’t nearly enough!!”

Nines watched him nervously, but remained silent.

“Everything aches, inside!!” Gavin cried out, reached for the back of Nines’ head, and pulled his lips to his own. Deftly, Gavin’s tongue flicked across his lips until Nines parted them with a growl that sent a powerful thrill through the other male.

In an instant, Gavin was flipped down onto his back, and he was kissed quite hard. Lips bruising lips, Nines bit into Gavin’s mouth, and forced Gavin back down when he tried dominating once more. In the momentary ‘struggle’, Gavin’s legs parted, and when he leaned up, his naked cock brushed against Nines’.

Nearly screaming out at the height of his lust, Gavin broke the kiss and nestled his face against Nines’ neck. Kissing and nibbling away at the skin there, he slowly began doing whatever felt natural. Moving his hips against Nines’ so their arousals were rubbing, his uncoordinated, jerky motions were soon ‘guided’ properly from Nines’ helping hand.

Steadying himself on the bed as his free hand wrapped around both their cocks and stroked firmly, Nines looked down at Gavin quickly, never wanting to close his eyes. His erection was painful, his lust so strong that he wasn’t thinking much more clearly than detective beneath himself. Whenever Gavin moved, it was sloppy, messy, uncoordinated. A few times, he nearly rammed his knees up into Nines accidentally.

Hissing back when Gavin did manage to land a tiny jab into his thigh, Nines instructed calmly, “Move your hips more, Reed.”

Strangely, the intoxicated detective obeyed, and the result was rewarding as it was refreshing for both men. Gavin wrapped a hand around Nines’ shoulders, and he repeatedly cried out in joy, “Oooh, it feels…fuck…it feels s-so good, Nines…you feel soooo g-good…”

“Okay, okay, Gavin,” Nines panted.

“Nines…you…you’re sooo hot against m-meeee…”

“Shh, okay, Gavin…”

As he stared down at their erections, Nines suddenly felt he wanted to be bold enough to try something new…

Breaking away from Gavin, he watched as Gavin began crying in agony at being denied another orgasm. “Lie down, Gavin,” Nines commanded. The human immediately obeyed him without thinking. Moving in close, Nines grabbed Gavin’s ankles and turned his body crosswise on the bed. He then pulled Gavin to the edge so his ass was almost hanging off the bed into the air. Placing one of the man’s feet onto his own strong shoulder while the other lay bent at the knee on the mattress, he spread Gavin’s legs and knelt between them.

“What’re you doing?” Gavin asked fearfully.

“Shh, just try to relax,” Nines murmured as his mouth neared the place he was aiming for the entire time. The sight of Gavin open before him was intoxicating. Nines had previously read that orally pleasing a partner was so powerful. The power of the act was addicting. To hear a person moan in uncontrollable passion, that was the kind of control over a partner he was seeking. To utterly dominate a lover, to bring them to a point where they were willing to beg for him, all without causing them a moment’s discomfort; that was true power.

Gavin felt Nines grasp his bare ass, felt his hot breath on the insides of his open thighs. He went still the moment when he felt a warm tongue sliding over his opening. It was a complete surprise; it was a beautiful torture. Eyes widening in shock for a moment, Gavin didn’t even know how to react before unbelievable pleasure burst over himself. He found he couldn’t even scream; he wailed like a lost soul as Nines’ tongue did amazing things to him. His fingers dug into his ass when he pulled Gavin closer to himself as if he was afraid he would escape. His tongue flicked his ring of muscle, and then slid in and out of his body. Hardly able to believe that Nines was fucking him with his tongue in such a way, Gavin cried out to God, the Devil, and a whole litany of shit he didn’t even comprehend.

As he neared orgasm, one of Nines’ hands came up to pinch and pluck away at Gavin’s oversensitive nipple. Right there, completely inundated with pleasure at so many ends, Gavin’s hips bucked uncontrollably as he came in screaming, incredible pleasure. Nines’ grip on his ass tightened so he would not flail away from his lips while he drank and swallowed in the sight of Gavin coming like a rapturous sight from heaven. Nines was then growling deeply in his throat as he too finally reached down and grasped his own erection. After a few quick strokes, he came all over himself while crying out Gavin’s name.

It was too much, too intense to bear, and Gavin fainted.

~0~0~0~0~0

Morning came way too quickly. Gavin could tell it was dawn just because his body had alerted him to the fact that he’d overslept. He felt dizzy, heavy, numb, and absolutely exhausted, still. Opening his eyes slowly, he first noticed when his vision cleared that he was in Nines’ bedroom just like last night.

So it hadn’t really been a dream…

With a strained groan, he rubbed his eyes, hissing and wincing when he felt his facial stubble scratching against his skin. Already in need of a shave again?? Oh, how he was _not_ looking forward to that, especially without a god damn mirror aiding him in completing the task.

Wishing he could go back to sleep for a few more hours, Gavin regretfully yawned, brushed the sheets away from his body, and decided to get the hell up.

Sitting on the edge of the bed, he suddenly remembered he was completely naked…and in Nines’ apartment…fuck. Everything suddenly slammed into his over-exhausted brain at once. The kissing, the touching, the groping, skin sliding along skin, Nines completely nude before him, Gavin completely nude before Nines…he was well aware of _every last detail_.

Mortified when he’d pieced it all together as best as he could, Gavin felt all the blood draining from his face and pooling down into the pit of his stomach. He felt so embarrassed that he wanted to throw up. He’d basically thrown himself at Nines like some dog in heat, desperate for any attention and release. Nines had pitied him, perhaps, but at most, felt sorry enough to entertain his stupid whims.

Pathetic. He was pathetic, and Nines more than likely thought this, too. Great.

Hoping the puissant android wasn’t around, Gavin slowly stood to his feet, and he ran towards the bathroom. All seemed to be clear, thankfully…until he opened the bathroom door and turned on the light.

At once, he leapt up in shock, emitting a tiny scream when he saw Nines sitting down on the closed toilet bowl lid with his entire human skin deactivated on his left arm, and just up to the wrist of his right hand.

“Nines!!” Gavin cried out, and then burst into a spasmodic coughing fit when his saliva got caught in his throat at the same time he tried inhaling again. Once he was calm, he cleared his throat, covered his genitals with a hand, and then roared with both eyebrows raised. “What the fuck are you doing?!”

This was literally the weirdest, craziest shit he’d ever stumbled upon. Nines was holding his arm with the tattoo out before himself, and as his opposite android hand wavered over it, he sighed out, “Leave, Detective.”

“Umm…no,” Gavin chuckled, though it was the apotheosis of quite the sarcastic chuckle. “Noooo, Nines, not happenin’ until you tell me what the hell you’re doin’.”

Relenting, Nines sighed as he nodded at his tattoo. “I’m getting rid of it.”

Scrunching his face up in utter confusion, Gavin cried out, “Why?!”

“Because you were right,” Nines admitted contritely. “I was just doing what I thought would help me fit in and be liked or accepted. Who the hell was I fooling aside from myself?”

Stepping closer to him though he still covered his genitals, Gavin hissed softly, “Nines, that doesn’t mean throw it all away in the damn garbage if you yourself like it!!” Pausing, he squinted, sniffed, and then asked, “Wait, how did you get it on your skin in the first place?” He wasn’t an expert when it came to androids, but he was positive that androids couldn’t walk into tattoo salons and just get a tattoo the same way a person did.

Waving at him with his right hand, Nines sighed, “Just a selective option or feature of my system; it’s more or less for physical aesthetic enhancements.” As his fingers curled back, he explained further, “I can pick any design, shape, color, or model I want…”

“I’m confused,” Gavin admitted, not really caring how ignorant and dumb he sounded.

Nines stared at the ceiling for a moment, and then finally at Gavin again. “Think of it like a skin mod in a video game,” he provided the information in the most basic way he could, “I have option of using any mod I wish, I guess.” Staring back down at his tattoo, his right hand’s android layer of skin flashed pure white. “But like all things, I guess this too came to an end…”

Right before Nines could’ve pressed his free hand down over the tattoo, Gavin leapt forward. His own hand clamped down over the back of Nines’, and he stopped the android before he could make contact with the tattoo. Immediately, both men paused, ceased all movement, and then slowly stared into each other’s eyes.

Blushing when Nines stared straight through to his soul, practically, Gavin whispered gently, “Don’t do that…”

“I want it gone,” Nines sighed with an air of such a heavy sadness, that it pulled directly at Gavin’s heart strings in the weirdest of ways.

Wondering how it came to be that an android, of all things, managed to stir some deep-seated emotions in himself that way, Gavin sighed, and then stepped back. Though he didn’t remove his hand off Nines’, he did utter meekly, “I like it, though…”

LED light bright blue as his eyes, Nines gasped, “Y-you do???” Sitting up on the closed toilet bowl lid, he hurriedly got carried away as he exclaimed excitedly, “I mean, you don’t have to just say that if you don’t mean it! I don’t mind taking it away and maybe getting another—”

Reaching forward with a hand, Gavin gently silenced Nines by clamping his palm over the android’s mouth. His words became muffled right away on the spot, but he didn’t appear angry that Gavin had done this. In fact, his eyes gleamed with amusement and playfulness Gavin hadn’t really seen him displaying there before…it was rapturous…

Lowering his eyes from the penetrating gaze when it was unbearable to withstand, Gavin shyly and softly spoke out, “Th-thanks for last n-night, Nines…”

The android emitted a tiny gasp once Gavin dropped his hand away from his mouth. “You were cognizant for most of that???”

Gavin winced. He knew he’d spoken unwisely and revealed probably more than he should have. There now existed mutual embarrassment between them, and it didn’t matter whether Gavin was physically naked or not. He felt more naked on an emotional and psychological level, now.

However, rather than lashing out at Nines as he would have no doubt done in the past, he merely replied calmly, “It wasn’t…it wasn’t bad?”

Nines blinked once, and then slowly got up from the lid of the toilet bowl. His human skin was activated on both arms and hands, thankfully, and he looked less creepy in Gavin’s eyes. At least Nines was dressed, thankfully, and it seemed he was honorable and respectful enough not to stare at Gavin’s nudity.

Knowing he’d badly misjudged this creature, Gavin felt regret suffocating him. Nervously scratching the back of his head, he instead channeled his embarrassment into vitriol when he remembered the individuals responsible for landing him in this mess to begin with.

On the warpath with revenge running rampant in his mind and heart, Gavin rebuked, “If I _ever_ see those fuckers again, they better run in the opposite direction if they know what’s good for them.”

Smirking smoothly, Nines leaned into him and gushed in a consoling manner, “You _do_ know what happens to rapists when they’re incarcerated, Reed…” Nuzzling Gavin’s neck with the tip of his nose, he inhaled sharply and detected small traces of arousal wafting between anger and resentment there within Gavin.

Delighted by how strong and persistent Gavin was, Nines growled, “I’m ravenous; our justice system is apropos for punishing squalor like Joel and Rachel.”

“Good,” Gavin snapped out bitterly, “let’s see how that piece of shit feels when someone’s tryin’ to forcefully jam a dick in his—”

Gavin let out a piercing scream when Nines bit down relatively roughly and violently onto his neck. The act sprang from nowhere, so it seemed, and Gavin struggled to get away. Nines’ jaws held onto him tightly for a moment, but he eventually released his hold on Gavin.

Massaging the sore area, Gavin wheezed, “You!! Y-you f-freak!! What the h-hell was that for?!” Relieved that Nines hadn’t broke through skin to cause serious bleeding, he hissed in a harsh, barbed tone, “You’re a bastard sometimes, Nines!!”

LED light redder than the fires of hell, Nines gripped Gavin by the back of the neck forcefully. Drawing their faces flush against each other, his eyes snapped shut while he growled viciously. “Don’t you _ever_ make references to _any_ other person touching you, or I’ll _really _lose my damn temper, Gavin.”

Sputtering, Gavin argued, “But I wasn’t tryin’ to—”

“You were,” Nines hissed back, “so don’t fucking do it again.”

Muttering under his breath, Gavin wrenched himself away from Nines’ crushing grip. Massaging his bitten neck, he bemoaned, “I was just fuckin’ sayin’ that they’ll be introduced to the prison system anyway, Nines! No need to take a bite outta me, god!”

A large hand suddenly clutched onto his hip, and Gavin was again yanked towards Nines. Letting out a strained yelp when their bodies collided, Gavin’s brows furrowed while he tried wriggling free to no avail.

A heated breath suddenly puffed out against his ear, causing him to cease moving. This definitely enabled him to forget about the stinging pain, and when Nines pressed his own powerful hips deeply against the startled human’s, Gavin’s mind reeled over in pleasure.

“Would you prefer it if I were to introduce you to _my_ penile system, Gavin?” Chuckling playfully, Nines sucked Gavin’s earlobe deeply into his mouth.

Involuntarily, the detective shivered, and then Nines let him go once again.

Sexual tremors and odd tingling sensations ran throughout his body. Bracing himself against a wall, Gavin took many breaths before he finally calmed down. Upon understanding that Nines had been trying to make a point rather than trying to harm or mock him, he stopped shaking.

Chuckling at the situation he was in, Gavin joked lightly, “The stuff we get ourselves into, huh Nines?”

The android only granted him a warm smile. “I’ll let you shower.”

“I need help with shaving again,” Gavin breathed at Nines’ back once the tall RK900 had made his way towards the bathroom door to leave.

Pausing, Nines nodded, and then peeked over his shoulder at Gavin. “I’ll be there whenever you need me…all you have to do is call, Reed.”

The door clicked shut softly thereafter, but in Gavin’s dazed state and mixtures of confusion, he hadn’t heard it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaand now we know how Nines got his tattoo ;)


	45. Detroit Evolution News!

My dudes, the fan made Detroit Evolution movie had an update with an interview with Chris (aka Nines) and Maximilian (Gavin) and I browsed through the comments by OctoPunkMedia, and guess what?

...........

THEY SAID THE MOVIE IS 70 MINUTES LONG! HOLY SHOOOOOOOOT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I had no idea the sequel was going to be long, so if this isn't news to some of you, apologize! It took me by shock, and I'm not sure HOW I missed it, but aside from my zeal for that, the interview with Chris was cute because Chris is cute himself! (So are you, Max! ^-^ )

Link to the vidya: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mUg1CVZkyoo

I seriously thought it was going to be maybe a tad longer than the first, but it's NOT! HOLY FECK! I ARE EXCITEMENT!! Legit, I HAD to share it with someone otherwise I was going to implode from joy!! This summer is going to be amazing!

Caaaan't waaaaiiittttt !!!💓🤘🔥🙏😵

Give me the video now!!!!!!!!!!!


	46. Dance on Water

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nines' clothes: https://www.the-black-angel.com/gothic-gloves/1446-mens-gloves-metal-rings.html  
https://www.the-black-angel.com/mens-jackets/1459-black-denim-vest-studs-skull-buttons.html  
https://www.the-black-angel.com/gothic-pants-men/1468-black-and-grey-pinstriped-pants.html
> 
> Music for the chapter : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YR5USHu6D6U

The sound of water running in the bathroom was louder than that of a magnificent, powerful waterfall. It echoed in Nines’ audio receptors, and the ruminative android fell victim to its gentle lull. Sitting down in the living room of his apartment, Nines closed his eyes, and he pondered everything that had happened. He wasn’t sure where to begin, but he felt a sudden rush of gratitude flowing through himself. Nines was grateful for many things. He was grateful for the fact that he’d rescued Gavin on time before something dreadful could have happened. He was grateful for the fact that Gavin trusted him. And, above all else, he was grateful that his feelings for the detective seemed to be growing substantially…this didn’t feel ruinous at all! This was new!! This was brilliantly rewarding in every right!

Smiling to himself, Nines softly asked, “Do I have feelings for Gavin Reed?”

The question seemed to answer itself, practically. His behavior seemed pretty risible as of late when compared to how ‘composed’, martinet, and taciturn he’d once been, which was noteworthy. In lieu of his conversations with Connor, Nines knew that the cheerful RK800 was in a pleasant relationship, himself. At work, Connor had elucidated that redolent of the history and tradition surrounding being in love and enamored with someone, it was almost completely natural to feel pleased, happy, elated, ecstatic, and humorous all around. Nines noticed these sets of feelings especially whenever he was near Gavin. It seemed that all his past opinions surrounding the odd detective had changed entirely, and pleasantly so.

Nines no longer considered Gavin Reed to be rebarbative and objectionable. No, Gavin didn’t appear to be indolent, languid, annoying, abrasive, and crude any longer. Now, Nines saw him through what Connor had often referred to as ‘the rose-tinted glasses’. Gavin was seen in a new light, and Nines was beginning to enjoy him in ways he didn’t think were possible before. It was truly refreshing, and Nines felt fixated on the notion that he needed more. He was becoming addicted to Gavin Reed…but this wasn’t a toxic kind of fascination; perhaps this was love…

Strange how he could be a unique model of a unique prototype that supposedly had all the answers to everything, yet he had no idea what he was feeling. He didn’t even know how to define ‘love’. But perhaps it didn’t require such a definition…

Maybe he just needed to ‘feel’…

….

But to feel…would…also bring about some…pain…

Startled upon realizing this, a more serious, deleterious version of his thoughts suddenly swarmed over the more ‘pleasant’ ones. As great and rewarding as they felt, Nines had to stop and ask himself: _What am I doing here?! _

Remembering all his desires in the previous night churning and burning about in the midst of Gavin’s throes of passion, Nines shuddered at his own possessive nature. He’d wanted to possess and take Gavin as though he were an object; not a person. Gavin should’ve decided! What right did he himself have to make that decision?

Yes…he would ask Gavin! Asking was always better than assuming Gavin automatically felt the same way and wanted to be with him. It was nicer to confirm that by reflecting it back onto Gavin rather than running amok with his fanciful ideations.

Content with this for a moment, Nines had been forming the questions on the tip of his tongue, when another negative voice hissed in his audio receptors. It reared its nasty little head, fully bitter and full of resentment.

_But to also ask surely means that you would open yourself up to the possibility of a rejection. He may reject you…he may hurt you…just like—_

“Nines! Can you please help me, now?” As he’d been lost in his thoughts, Gavin exited the shower, and then called out to him.

All too eagerly, Nines found himself looking forward to helping Gavin right away. Even his thirium pump was beating and working far too quickly, a thing he himself previously was able to control at times. Now, it was impossible…

“Nines?”

“Yeah,” he sighed, “I’ll be right there, Ga—Reed.” Freezing up, he wondered just why he’d referred to Gavin by his given name once again. Last time he had, he recalled that the detective didn’t like it, and he’d insisted on being called ‘Reed’, or ‘Detective’. Nines nearly slapped himself for carelessly forgetting such an important detail. Moving himself quickly towards the bathroom door, he poked his head in and trained his eyes onto the floor.

Afraid of making Gavin more uncomfortable than he likely already had, Nines asked, “Are you decent?”

With a tiny snort, Gavin stood near the bathroom sink and vanity, a blue towel draped and wrapped around his taut waist. He was facing Nines as he chuckled, “Decent? Come on, Nines,” face turning pink as his wet hair trickled with some dewy drops, he commented wisely, “we’ve seen each other naked quite a number of times, now, so I don’t think ‘decency’ exists between us anymore.”

“You have a point,” Nines sighed, “a cheeky one, but a point, anyway.” Moving into the bathroom, he went through the motions of retrieving the expensive, electric razor, turning on the water, and watching as Gavin lathered his face up. When he was ready, he turned and leaned his back against the counter, and Nines got to work.

Focusing quite intently on making sure he didn’t cut an inch of Gavin’s skin, as Nines shaved the other male as gently as possible, a rather sad thought flew into his mind. It was a rather bitter-sweet thought, much like the one that had nearly seized him previously. This current thought wasn’t any less painful, but one he found he couldn’t ignore, not when it came to Gavin. But whenever the time was right, he figured he would perhaps bring it up. Unless he didn’t give himself away, he was certain that the clever detective wouldn’t possibly pick up on the hints of his turmoil. All he needed to do was act as naturally as ever, though he knew it would prove to be a difficult task the longer he stared at Gavin.

His hands were on fire, so he felt. It hurt and burned to touch Gavin, to look at him, to smell him, to be with him…it was a good fire, and not an entirely unwelcome one at that, but it troubled him that there was a burning sensation there to begin with. What was its place here? Was there a purpose for it at all?

None of this was good…it was now becoming an addiction he longed for when he knew how dangerous it could be. Yes, it seemed to be dangerous to leave himself alone with his thoughts surrounding Gavin Reed. The man was both the cure, as well as the poison.

When he’d finished, he shut off the razor, and he cleaned it silently while Gavin washed his face. Patting his own skin dry, the detective hummed in appreciation, and he threw his head back as he ruffled up his own dark hair.

“I bet I look okay,” he surmised aloud, and then smiled at Nines, waiting for his confirmation.

Nines only smiled back a weak, pained smile. “You look fine, Reed.”

It hurt…it all hurt…not because he had told Gavin the truth, but it hurt because he realized that Gavin had never sought out his verdict and opinion on anything before.

~0~0~0~0~0

Gavin’s phone buzzed quite loudly as he ate breakfast in Nines’ kitchen. A few times, both men stared down at the phone, but surprisingly, Nines didn’t order Gavin to answer it. He seemed to respect Gavin’s sense of autonomy, to which the other man was truly grateful for. As he sat back and delighted himself in feasting on his French toast, Gavin smiled at Nines. It was a most genuine smile, and Nines returned it happily.

They were relaxed and enjoying the morning, with Gavin dressed in loose, casual jeans and a dark grey sweater, and Nines donning black and grey pinstripe pants, a black denim vest featuring skull buttons and studs, with long black gothic gloves that ran up to his elbows, metal rings dancing and decorating the front in a neat, jarring way.

“Thank you for reporting those bastards who thought they could get away with hurting me,” Gavin stated as he frowned at the blurred memories he really didn’t want to be thinking about. Shifting uncomfortably, he asked, “Have they recently done shit like this? I mean…were there other recent victims?”

Nines’ smile fell. “Aside from last night, I’m not sure,” he admitted openly, caution sweeping into his tone as he added, “they finished serving their last charge, but there seems to always be a high rate of crime recurrence these days.”

“You don’t have to tell me,” Gavin chuckled, and as he did, his phone went off again. This time, Nines did stare at it for a prolonged period of time, and Gavin hissed, “It’s not my mom, don’t worry.”

Trusting his word, the android nodded once, and then sat and gazed out the kitchen windows past his plants.

Eyeing them, Gavin beamed brightly like the sun outside. Wanting to take up an interest in all the things Nines did, Gavin commented on a bubbly note, “Plants are lookin’ good, Nines!”

“Hmm,” Nines smirked, “I water them often, you know.”

“I know,” Gavin chuckled mildly, “the hard efforts paid off.”

Turning to study him intently, Nines found that Gavin had nearly finished his coffee. Tapping on the handle of the mug, Nines inquired, “Would you like more?”

“Nah,” Gavin sighed, finishing the last bit of his toast before he gathered his dishes in his hands and walked them over towards the dishwasher. “Breakfast was good,” he stated politely while he loaded up the dishwasher carefully, and he heard Nines hum something out. Gavin unfortunately was unable to hear it, and he felt curious enough to want to know just what it was.

Once he loaded up the dishwasher, he peeked back over his shoulder into the living room, where he found Nines checking on the rest of his plants. The android milled around from plant to plant, taking his time to water the ones that required watering again, and merely studying the shape of the leaves of the others.

Moving out of the kitchen, Gavin crossed the distance between his own body and Nines’, and in a swoop, he wrapped his arms around Nines. Spinning around quickly, the android gasped, “Reed! What’re you—”

Silencing him with a stolen kiss, Gavin leaned up on his toes just to be able to reach Nines’ full height. When he had, he planted his lips firmly over Nines’…only to have Nines pry his head and mouth away from Gavin’s abruptly.

“Reed!” Nines snapped viciously, “what the hell do you think you’re doing?!”

That hurt…it really did.

Turning beet red from the way Nines had barked his question out, Gavin shrank back and felt the need to defend himself. He hated being mocked and made a jackass out of, and he felt that Nines was doing just _that_ specifically. “Okay, a thousand pardons, asshole,” Gavin fired out aggressively with brows burrowed tightly, “what the fuck did I do to piss you off, _now_?!”

Wiping his lips with the back of a hand, Nines chuckled dryly, “You threw yourself at me!”

Seeing the way Nines was cleansing his mouth and lips made Gavin rage internally. Beyond infuriated, he seethed, “So I’m a germ to you, now? Lovely, Nines, way to make a guy feel so special.”

“What’re you talking about?”

“Oh, don’t play dumb with me!” Gavin screamed out vehemently, “apparently, I’m good enough for you to mess around with like last night, but now that the novelty of that shit wore off, you’re tossin’ me aside like some fuckin’ old, used shoe!!”

……

Nines couldn’t believe it. What he was currently hearing had to be a figment of his imagination…Gavin Reed thought _this_ was the problem?!?

What a laugh…

“You think _that’s_ why I’m pushing you away?!” Nines cried, hardly able to contain himself as his LED light blared red. “Aren’t you ever perceptive.”

Picking up on his sarcasm, Gavin retorted, “Well, that’s how I feel about it, Nines!” Throwing a hand in the air, he almost screamed his reproach, “Yesterday, you couldn’t keep your hands off me, and were practically fuckin’ the hell out of me! And today, you’re—”

The rest of what he’d been trying to say was cut off as Nines swooped over him in one fluid motion. Possessively, the android grabbed Gavin’s face in both hands, and Nines’ mouth came down hard on Gavin’s. Strong fingers began tightening around Gavin’s wrists, firmly holding him into place while Nines savagely devoured his lips. Eyes flying wide, Gavin attempted to jerk away, but was easily held in place by the much larger man. Nines’ kiss was hard and demanding, and Gavin trembled wildly as Nines’ tongue plundered his mouth.

Raising his head after a moment as he broke their heated frenzy of a kiss, Nines glared down at Gavin, appearance seemingly unruffled other than the searing heat in his dark eyes. For his part, Gavin was panting raggedly, shocked, and trying to wriggle away from the hands holding him.

Not yet letting him go, Nines growled into his ear. “Listen very carefully, Reed,” he knew he had to be rather harsh, but it was for the sake of Gavin, himself. Sometimes, if one person loved another, they had to do things and make certain sacrifices, even if it meant causing a lot of pain to both persons involved. But it was all in the name of love; in the hope that Gavin wouldn’t be hurt and let down.

Continuing on despite the thrumming pain in his chest, Nines rationalized, “I can’t give you whatever it is you’re looking for, because right now, I feel you deserve someone better; someone who isn’t going to constantly throw themselves at you any chance they get.” While there was some truth ringing in that statement, the lie greatly and vastly outweighed the truth. Nines knew he was severely and seriously sexually attracted to Gavin. He didn’t need to go through anything else to examine that at all. However, this wasn’t a pleasant thing for them both, he reasoned. Gavin didn’t need more sex friends; he needed someone genuine, someone reliable, someone who could provide true companionship for him, and someone who wasn’t a freak.

…He needed someone who wasn’t afraid…

Nines didn’t think he could ever be a perfect match for Gavin at all. Not wanting to reduce his own feelings to raw sexuality and lust, he felt it was better to just stay away and create a distance, now. That was the cure for this madness…

Shaking his head, a very frustrated Gavin Reed argued, “Nines, no! What the hell kind of thinking is this, and who the hell led you to believe in this shit?!”

Ignoring Gavin’s cries, Nines pushed through the pain. “I said so myself, and I believe these to my fullest abilities, Reed.” This answer wasn’t good enough for both Nines, and Gavin, but Nines felt it had to be heard; this was necessary.

“Nines!”

“Reed, I’m no good for you.”

Knocking his hands away from his face, finally, Gavin breathed in and out a few panicked breaths before he whined, “Nines, you’re way better than me! If anything, I’m way outta your league, and I think I’d be lucky enough to have you by my side!”

It was all hurting him too much; way too much. Feeling so much at once, Nines was overwhelmed beyond control, and he took a tiny step away from Gavin.

“Stop it,” he warned, “just stop…”

Advancing bravely, Gavin cried out, “Please, Nines! Can’t you just listen to yourself and see that you and I…w-we just click!!”

Thirium pump throbbing, and thirium boiling, now, Nines choked out, “S-stop it, Reed!!”

The warning wasn’t enough, and Gavin took measured steps towards Nines anytime the android moved back. Their little ‘dance’ went on for some time; Gavin moving ahead, and Nines inching back further and further. It ended when Nines’ shoulders and back hit a wall, and he knew he’d lost space and time.

Inches away from him, Gavin whispered carefully and almost fearfully, his eyes shining with what could have possibly been tears. “Nines, I think I’m in lo—”

Something snapped in Nines right away.

Ducking his head, Nines claimed Gavin’s mouth once more, lips demanding and punishing. Anger coursed throughout his system, and he viciously held onto Gavin, and then pinned him against the wall. Transferring his hold on Gavin’s wrists to one hand and keeping them both pinned to the wall, Nines drew the other in a sweeping caress down Gavin’s side, growling inwardly as the shorter male squirmed against him.

Gavin tried to protest, but Nines’ mouth muffled him effectively, and all he could do was attempt to twist away from the taller, stronger man, panic fluttering in his belly. This was far worse than being rejected, dumped, and cheated on. Nines wasn’t willing to listen, and although he was expressing some form of intimacy unto him, Gavin knew that it wasn’t gentle, which meant it was absolutely forced, and all for the sake of shutting him up.

As this realization dawned unto him, Gavin retaliated by biting as hard as he could on Nines’ lips.

Lifting his head abruptly, Nines licked his lips. A tiny stream of thirium trickled out of the tear in the android’s lips, but this seemed to coax Nines into being more aggressive. Swiping down with his tongue on Gavin’s chin, first, he then lapped at the corner of Gavin’s mouth, before gently laying a hand on his left hip.

When Gavin tried making a break for it, Nines roared in a low warning, gripped Gavin’s hip tighter, and abruptly slammed him to the wall once again.

This was physical torment and torture, and as Gavin remained pinned between Nines’ massive body and the thick wall, he stared into Nines’ eyes for a long stretch of time in silence. Through his searching, he concluded one thing and one thing alone.

Nines was in as much pain and anguish as he was. The way Nines showed his pain, however, seemed to be in a more aggressive, sexual manner meant to push Gavin away. The clever, astute detective knew this, however. Reading right through Nines’ plans, all he could do was hang his head low as a sad expression took over his face.

Sneering, Nines’ bangs fell messily over his forehead as he snarled, “Have I made my fucking point yet to you, Gavin? Or do you need me to show you in another way?” Already, his large hands were sliding up Gavin’s shirt.

“Y-you’re being absolutely fuckin’ cruel, Nines,” came the soft voice Gavin couldn’t believe he owned, “you’re doing well to push me away.”

Not even hesitating while he palmed one of Gavin’s sensitive breasts, Nines croaked, “Good; I want you to stop all this, once and for all. Do you get it?”

…..

Wavering, Gavin inhaled sharply, “Nines, you—”

“I said, do you get it or not, you—”

The spoken and unspoken words both Nines and Gavin had felt for one another had been abruptly cut off when Gavin’s phone went off loudly again. It’d done so multiple times before, however, this time, the ringtone was changed. Set to an alarm sound that was a horn blaring through the tension-filled air, it did well to steal Gavin’s and Nines’ attention right away.

Gavin rasped, “Shit…it’s Fowler…”

Letting him go, Nines sighed weakly, “Then answer it.”

Not needing to be told again as though he were a child, Gavin nodded, readjusted his shirt, and then tiptoed towards his phone hanging out on the center of the kitchen table. Swiping it clean off the surface of the table and into his hands, Gavin hid himself away in the kitchen as he reluctantly answered the urgent call.

“Yeah?”

“Reed!” Fowler barked out desperately the second Gavin spoke up, “good!! Son, listen! I need for you and Nines to get your asses down here, NOW!”

Blinking in silent awe for a split second, Gavin then gathered himself and hissed snidely, “I thought Nines and I were suspended, Jeffrey.” 

Hearing the conversation and the way it had already started on such a sour note, Nines frowned in confusion and hung back, eyes on Gavin’s phone rather than on the man himself.

Flying into a raging fit, Fowler roared aggressively, “Listen to me, Reed!! We need help here!! A little girl has been missing since last night, and—”

Pinching the bridge of his nose tightly, Gavin roared, “Then issue a god damn Amber Alert, Jeffrey!!” 

What was the point of this?!

“You asshole!!” his superior mightily screamed, voice hoarse as he stated, “she’s the senator’s kid!!”

Eyes wide with trepidation and fear, Gavin now understood the weight of the situation completely. 

“Yeah,” Fowler snapped, though he sounded calmer, “now you’re shutting your damn mouth and listening to me.”

“We’ll be right there, Fowler,” Gavin growled his promise, turning to face Nines. After the android nodded curtly in a confirmation at him, Gavin announced into his phone, “Don’t call me anymore, Jeffrey.” 

He then hung up in the middle of his superior’s next round of vibrant screams.

~0~0~0~0~0

Justine-Marie Williams was an effervescent young girl just shy of her twelfth birthday. The delightful young girl with an incredibly big, kind heart was born on Christmas Eve, strangely. From everything else Nines and Gavin learned about the half-Hispanic girl, her father indeed was a senator. Her mother worked for a large, reputable P.R. firm, and both parents were quite prominent citizens. And their little girl had gone missing…she’d disappeared into thin air, so it seemed…

Initially suspecting a kidnapping for the purposes of gaining some kind of a hefty ransom fee, Fowler’s opinion on the situation had drastically changed after Gavin and Nines set off to chat with Justine’s grief-stricken parents.

Yes, their large four-level house was located on the fanciest street and neighborhood in Detroit, yes, the interior of the abode was more than enough to send both Gavin and Nines swooning in shock. However, no clear evidence and no traces of an abduction had been evident in the slightest.

According to both parents, Justine was always provided for and loved to no end. In equal ways of being showered with both physical gifts and emotional ones, Justine was cared for, comforted, valued, and deeply loved. Justine had everything. 

Journeying up to her room to investigate and learn more about the little girl, Nines and Gavin went through mountains and piles of books, toys, dolls, as well as her technological gadgets. An android Golden Retriever puppy was also in the room. The machine pet animal wagged its tiny tail sadly upon their entry into Justine’s room, and it remained curled up quietly in a ball on her bed. 

Justine’s room had been left untouched and remained in the exact state as the time she disappeared, wisely so. 

The walls were light green with pink and white floral patterns. A large skylight loomed in the ceiling right above the bed. The carpet was soft beneath their feet, and pure white…white like snow…

Justine had left behind a lot of important things, it seemed, and eyeing all the major items in her room carefully, Nines was already working on composing a ‘list’ of her belongings that were present in the room. 

While Gavin took to staring out her large bedroom windows facing the balcony once he’d brushed her pink blinds aside, Nines glanced at the android puppy for a brief moment before moving to stand directly behind Gavin. He stood in such a way that ensured his reflection did not appear in the glass, but it didn’t matter much; it started snowing again, and quite heavily. The sky outside grew quite glum and foggy, almost. It was the epitome of gloom and sadness that had obviously afflicted both men investigating this devastating case. 

As the heavy chunks of cold snow fell and packed up along the outside of the windowsill and balcony, Gavin sighed softly, “It freaks me out that Justine is out there wandering around in this weather.” He turned and stared at the thick, black pea coat with the propped-up collar and black scarf Nines wore. Then, Gavin’s hands came to touch over his own thick, dark brown winter jacket as well. 

He was scared…

Nodding over at Justine’s bedroom closet door, which was wide-open, Nines stated calmly, “She took with herself a hat, a pair of mittens, a scarf, as well as a winter coat, Reed.”

Gavin took his turn to stare at the closet, now. Softly, he padded towards it, but midway, he changed his mind. Facing Justine’s large dresser instead, he eyed the various toys and decorations sitting there on the surface. What caught his eye and attention above all else happened to be a medium-sized rectangular box. It of course held some of Justine’s fingerprints on it, but it was otherwise clean and silvery. Gripping the sides of it carefully, Gavin pried open the lid. At once, gentle music played about in the air, and Gavin recognized the sweet, melodious tune anywhere.

It was The Nutcracker theme by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. As the lovely music played on, a ballerina figure white a black and white tutu danced and twirled about in the center of the music box. She’d been placed on crystal clear ice, and she danced an enchanting dance as Gavin slowly zoned out…

This music…it reminded him of his own youth so much…

~0~0~0~0~0

_As the Pas de deux played on, Gavin sat between his mother and father in the opera house and theater. The warm seats were so comfortable and lovely that they nearly sent him to sleep. He was only nine-years-old, and he was still a big, heavy sleeper. Spending a lot of his energy for school and playing with other kids at recess, Gavin was pooped by the time he got home. Only, that night, his parents surprised him by taking him out to a fancy restaurant and then they headed to the live ballet performance of The Nutcracker. It was all because his father had made a successful business transaction and proposal that went forward quite well. He earned a lot of money from it, and the Reeds were now celebrating, naturally. _

_A few times before Gavin could nod off, however, his mother elbowed him gently or would ruffle his hair to get his attention. _

_“You can’t sleep yet, sweetie!” she would coo at him and gently tap him on the nose or the chin. He would sit up straight, and as he watched the twirling, dancing, spinning colors on the dancers, harkened to the serene, gentle sway of the music, he would laugh in glee at anything he found particularly miraculous and interesting. At his age, Gavin was fascinated with anything that moved and made loud noises, practically. After having the large meal he had in the restaurant, he was in the best of moods, and he felt that nothing could ruin that._

_Even his mother was smiling joyously, and had been ever since they left the restaurant. _

_Wanting to see if his dad was having fun as well, Gavin peeked to his right, and then stared up shyly at his father…only to catch him texting away madly on his phone. He wasn’t watching the performance at all…_

_Trying not to pout and really show how upset he was, Gavin concealed his disappointment and gently poked his father in the arm. _

_The older Reed paused between texts, frowning at Gavin for interrupting him, clearly. Setting his phone down onto his lap, he sighed as softly as he could, “Gavin, watch the performance.”_

_Feeling a little winded, Gavin quickly whispered back, “But it’s more fun when you’re watching it too, dad!!”_

_As Gavin’s father glared at him this time, Gavin’s mother hissed bitingly, “Felix! Pay attention!!”_

_“I am, Carrie! You don’t have to—”_

_Directly in front of their row sat a family of five. The father turned around angrily in his seat, eyes set in dark, tiny slits. He glared at everyone equally, but he dished out his harshest of scowls for Felix. “Hey!” he snapped at Gavin’s father, “keep it down! This isn’t a zoo; it’s an opera house!”_

_Aggressively, Felix leaning forward, insults already ready to fly out of his mouth, but Carrie got in the way and pressed a steady hand down on her husband’s shoulder. He calmed down, but then whispered heatedly at her once the angry man had turned back around in his own seat._

_The show went on; the dancers and the orchestra played, and the entire world kept spinning. Still, every single member of the Reed family was beyond irate, especially Carrie. She was the only one to stew for all of three minutes in silence, and then turned her neck towards where her husband was seated._

_He had once again buried his nose into his phone, and Carrie sneered. _

_“Can’t you put that damn thing down for five seconds when we’re out and supposedly celebrating, Felix?!” She strained to keep her voice down, but the fact that his parents weren’t pleased with each other wasn’t leaving Gavin with good, happy vibes. _

_Chuckling a dry chuckle, Felix retorted, “Well excuse me, but I believe it’s with MY money and hard work that we were all able to come out and enjoy ourselves, is it not?”_

_“Are you married to your damn phone, or to me?!” Carrie didn’t relent as she snapped back with every bit of resentment and anger she had left in her. _

_While his father hissed back at his mother, Gavin hid himself as much as he could by sinking deeply in his seat. He took it a step farther by grabbing his mother’s large furry coat, and he hid himself beneath it. It was so warm under there, and he closed his eyes as he drowned out the sounds of his parents arguing back and forth._

_As they continued to do so, their emotions got the better of them both, and they were unable to keep the volume of their voices down. A lot of people trying to watch the performance grew weary of the bickering. They warned the Reeds to stop and keep their voices down, but they of course didn’t pay any heed to that. The skirmish soon was getting out of hand, and Gavin placed his hands on his ears just to drown out the angry voices of his parents._

_‘Please stop fighting, please stop fighting, please stop…end it now…end it now…just stop…’_

_The chairs on either side of his body then creaked, and Gavin felt breezes of cold air brushing past his legs. _

_Curiously, he lifted his mother’s coat off his head, and he peeked up. The theater was so dark, but he was still able to make out the back of his father and mother as they ran towards the ‘exit’, still arguing back and forth. Many people were watching, but the Reed parents finally went outside into the hall to resume their bickering there…_

_Gavin was left all alone for the rest of the performance, and he remembered his parents only coming back for him once the show had ended._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shit...that actually depressed me...


	47. Reluctant Hero

Gavin heard terror-stricken screaming, wailing, and sobbing emanating from the first level of the Williams’ household. He of course couldn’t blame the parents for feeling the way they were; there still was no recent news on the pending case of their daughter’s whereabouts. Not one to give up easily despite the signs not really being in his favor, Gavin exited Justine’s room and joined Nines in the hallway. It was incredibly warm in the large estate suddenly, and as Nines gripped the railing of the landing peering down into the foyer of the home, his LED light remained furiously on red.

Lips pulled back in a deadly show of a silent snarl, Nines didn’t utter a single word as he just stared on straight past the swinging, large chandelier hanging from the ceiling. Outside, the weather had gotten worse; freezing rain was now added to the mix of it all.

They didn’t have much time to waste on insignificant excursions.

Inching towards his partner silently so as not to disturb him, Gavin too stared straight ahead at the expensive, fancy chandelier. It must’ve cost a fortune, he supposed. Then again, everything in this house was rather expensive…

Peeking at Nines, Gavin barely nudged him before he whispered, “You okay?”

Not even bothering to address the question, Nines declaimed gruffly, “She left on her own accord.”

“I know,” Gavin sighed as he hung his head low, “she didn’t take any personal items with herself, which means that wherever she went, she planned on making it a short trip.”

Spinning his neck to the side so he was now facing Gavin, Nines met the detective’s gaze equally as he sternly said, “Yes, but that doesn’t mean that she wasn’t met with harm along the way…”

“Shh!” Gavin hissed, but it was too late.

Down in the foyer right beneath them were Justine’s parents in clear sight. Justine’s father-senator Martinez, and her mother-Eileen held onto each other tightly. Clinging onto her husband’s clothes for dear life, Eileen’s soft brown eyes were almost red as she screamed up at them both, “WHY AREN’T YOU TWO DOING ANYTHING TO FIND MY LITTLE BABY GIRL?!”

Waving his index finger up into the air while holding onto his wife, senator Martinez roared, “My child was taken by someone, and you two have the temerity to stand here in my home, and—”

Making his way down the red carpeted steps two-at-a-time, Gavin hurried towards them as he shouted, “Justine wasn’t abducted, senator! My partner and I believe she absolutely left on her own accord!!”

“What a stupid, outrageous thing to claim!” the inveterate senator threw back while Nines also descended the steps. “You two are apparently the ‘best’ the Detroit Police Department has to offer, and _this_ is your theory?!” His face turned beet red, and steam and sweat practically rose off his skin by the second. “I can’t believe such high levels of incompetence—”

This time, it’d been Nines who crossed the threshold. Slipping into such an angry, tendentious state so much that it frightened Gavin right to his core, he watched in awe as the tall, powerful android aggressively reached out with both hands. As time stood still, Gavin warily braced himself for the oncoming attack that senator Martinez unleashed.

Gavin had seen many parents lash out in anger and as a means of coping with the news and stressful experience of a missing child or loved one. Hell, he didn’t even mind it when those parents, relatives, and other friends even lashed out at him. But evidently, Nines didn’t like that, and he stood powerfully as he wedged himself between Gavin and the litigious senator Martinez.

The marginally shorter male astoundingly didn’t back down. Standing up on his toes, practically, he screamed at Nines while aiming to hit him, as well. Nines cleverly got out of the way, and as he did, Gavin heard Eileen screeching and begging for her husband to stop and remain calm.

“Calm!? CALM?!” he roared in an orotund manner, turning swiftly on his distraught wife. Neck and eyes bulging out at the peak of his fury, he crowed, “Someone out there has our baby girl, and you want me to—”

Interrupting when he could no longer take this ‘version’ of the situation being so wildly exaggerated and distorted based on nothing solid, Gavin stepped up to the senator and cried out as crisply as he could. “LISTEN!! Listen!!” he noticed a few personnel and private security guards peering in on them from the open halls leading into other spacious rooms of the household. Paying them no mind, Gavin pushed through in spite of all the unjustly calumny. “Your daughter was _not_ abducted by anyone! She left on her own, and we know this, because she didn’t take any food, any money, her phone, and she even left her puppy behind!!”

Stubborn as a mule, Senator Martinez muttered something incoherent under his breath, but that didn’t enable Gavin to stop. Not a single thing was going to disparage and deter him from getting his ideas out. Boldly, he narrowed his eyes at Senator Martinez especially while he ground out his conclusions.

“Look,” he sighed out wearily, “you said so yourself that your security team and surveillance didn’t pick anything up, right?” Not even waiting for a reply, he expounded, “If someone had been in and out of the house, you’d have known. But facts are that the puppy wasn’t even making a sound, the perimeter of the house hasn’t been breached, there’s no ransom note, no one contacted either of you for instructions on how to get Justine back…all of this points to the fact that your daughter hasn’t been abducted.”

Tearing up as she sniffled heavily, Eileen clasped her hands together, almost like someone about to kneel and pray. “You mean there’s hope that you can find our baby girl?!”

Snorting crudely, her husband turned his nose up haughtily at the notion. “Are you seriously listening to what they’re saying?!” the querulous man drew himself closer to his weeping wife as he added bitterly, “this is a simple case of some animals wanting our money, and taking advantage of everything we have!!”

Rolling his eyes heavenward, Gavin snipped quickly and with attitude, “Please, no one is after your money.”

“How would _you_ know that?!” Senator Martinez hissed thickly, “you’re just some underpaid policeman!”

As soon as he’d stated this, his insult had been repaid in full when Nines wrapped a hand around his neck. Before the android could do much harm, however, Gavin held him back quickly. His reflexes were rather sharp, given his age, and he prided himself on being able to hold Nines down from unleashing hell on Earth.

“Stop, Nines!” he hissed at his partner while the RK900 glared at Senator Martinez. “We’re not getting anywhere with this; we’re only wasting time when Justine’s out there in the cold and wilderness!!”

Backing away from the tenuous Senator and his wife, Nines turned to Gavin and cried, “We don’t even know where she could’ve gone, Reed!! We don’t even know why!” Pacing a little, he hissed angrily, “These are uncertainties! How can we get anywhere with so many uncertainties?!”

Not entirely prepared to handle ‘doubt’ and uncertainty, Gavin felt he had an inkling as to what may have caused little Justine to go missing. Ipso facto, he knew they could’ve been stuck on this case for days, eventually hitting one brick wall after another. There was no room for guessing; time was being lost unless something drastic happened.

Pushing past Nines, he stood right in front of Eileen and Senator Martinez. The Senator stared him down in a silent staring contest of sorts, but Gavin wasn’t interested in playing that game. Nodding once at the man, he licked his lips and asked, “Do you and your wife argue a lot?”

Turning white as a ghost, Eileen gasped, “H-how’s th-that any of y-your business, detective?!”

“The nerve!” the infuriated Senator screamed, “you better have a damn good reason for why you’re asking this question, or so help me, I’ll—”

“Insulting and threatening your benefactor isn’t very smart,” Nines advised, LED light flaring red, in a warning, perhaps. “Just listen to Detective Reed; it just may save your daughter’s life!”

Hanging on the thread of sheer desperation, now, Eileen whimpered, but proceeded to then nod at Gavin. She’d already given him the ‘green light’ to go, and he did.

“I’m sorry to repeat this,” he flushed red, “but I need you both to be honest with me and tell me whether or not you two have been arguing lately.”

Now, both parents turned pink, and for a moment, they looked at each other too quickly. Recognizing what they were doing even before they themselves knew what they were doing, Gavin repressed the urge to lash out, roll his eyes, and then cough up a super rude comment.

Keeping himself purely composed and tranquil, Gavin asked the question in a different way. He knew that Justine’s parents weren’t going to admit to their flaws soon, but he also knew that they were running out of time.

“Please,” he begged, hands outstretched as he pleaded and appealed to their good nature, “I know you’re very worried about your daughter, and believe me, I am too…” He saw Senator Martinez relax a little, but his face was still predominantly red. Adding on to his statement wisely, Gavin hissed, “This means more than your reputation, Senator! This is your _daughter_ we’re talking about! If there’s a chance that she’s run away from home, then you have to consider that chance and work with us!”

The other man stared over at Nines, then back at Gavin for a few odd seconds. It seemed as though he was holding back on a lot, and he didn’t know how to begin speaking. But he had to…his words were all they had.

Shaking his head slowly as if he happened to be caught underwater, the senator had been about to say something, when his wife jumped in to answer.

Wiping more tears as they fell, she hiccupped, “Y-yes! We-we w-were…s-s-struggling a l-l-lot lately because of our j-j-jobs and we didn’t s-s-spend a l-lot of time with Justine as w-we used t-t-to!!”

Fastidiously, her husband looked on, but when he hung his head low, Gavin knew his wife had been honest with him. It was so odd; he was suddenly reminded of his own poignant childhood…both parents working hard, though they never seemed to have time for him and only argued…

Shaking mildly, the nostalgic detective recovered from the harsh memories as Nines cried out, “Where do you think she may have gone?”

Sneering, the senator snapped coldly, “If we knew that, we wouldn’t have called you, would we?!”

Nines nearly leapt at him again for his crudeness and indignity, when Eileen broke out into another fresh round of sobs. Throwing her head back, she wailed out all sorts of odd things. “My poor g-girl!! She’s p-probably a-all alone, frightened, c-c-cold! I w-w-wanted to t-take her out this weekend for skating l-l-like we a-always used to d-do! She loves skating in th-the park! It c-calms her down, and—”

Right away, Gavin felt his heart skipping a beat. Not caring that this was rude, he dashed ahead, and he practically yanked Eileen close. Eyes wide and heart pumping rapidly, he cried out, “The park?! Which park?! Which park!! Tell me!!”

Stammering, Eileen coughed out, “C-Central Park!”

Gavin knew now why Justine had fled her home. He knew because he himself often used to do just the exact same thing whenever his parents had bickered and argued so loudly that it frightened him out of his sleep. He too had often fled his home in the hopes of just going somewhere quiet and peaceful, just to escape from the madness and struggles at home.

He suspected Justine had done the same thing.

~0~0~0~0~0

The park was rather desolate, quiet, serene, and a putrid white winter wonderland of sheer horror considering how they were looking for a young girl who could’ve gone anywhere within the spacious, vast park. Gavin split himself up from Nines. They would be able to cover more ground quickly if they split up, even though in the blizzard, Gavin felt the odds were already set to turn against them.

Persistently, Gavin decided to check the east side of the park, while Nines started with the west. One by one, Gavin checked the ponds and skating rinks, but he didn’t see any signs of Justine. In total, there were three major ponds in the huge park, and what terrified Gavin was that the ice on all three of them wasn’t thick…if a human being-regardless of any size or weight-stepped foot on it, that would be the dreary end.

Struggling not to think in such crudely dark and disturbing ways, Gavin checked the park’s washrooms around the pond as well. He’d originally assumed that Justine had likely hidden away in there to keep warm, but after checking everywhere meticulously, he was utterly disappointed when she was nowhere to be found.

On the verge of losing his mind due to his panicked, raging thoughts, Gavin made his way back around the largest pond serving as the park’s major ice-skating rink.

Fat snowflakes fell from the cold, cloudy, grey sky. Hardly any birds flew by. The tops of the leafless trees were suddenly looking so sickly and thin, that the branches stood out in the air like long, bony arms and fingers. Animal pawprints littered the banks of the freshly fallen, untouched snow. Majority of the park’s equipment and decorations had been thickly covered in snow until they were hardly seen at all. Only the icy benches, lamps, and bridge looming over the large pond Gavin peered around seemed to still be somewhat untouched by the blankets of snow. Icicles trickled down and formed from the peaks of the dark lamps, sides of the benches, and railings of the bridge. It all was too cold, too quiet, and too calm.

Cupping his gloved hands together around his mouth, Gavin called out strongly, “JUSTINE!!”

Only the powerful wind responded to his cries, and he whimpered as it whipped and churned bits of snow from the ground up into his face cruelly.

“JUSTINE!!! ANSWER ME!!”

His ears registered the sounds of footsteps pounding wildly on the bridge, but before he could cry out sharply again, Nines’ voice strongly bellowed out, “Gavin!! There!! The edge of the pond!”

Whirling around to face the direction Nines had pointed in, Gavin’s mind spun and swam at the height of his desperation and concern. There, just as Nines stated, he saw a tiny figure standing by the edge of the pond. She was dressed in a plum-colored winter jacket, with fuzzy, thick pink winter boots on her tiny feet. She wore deep blue jeans, and the hood of her jacket had been pulled down to cover her head, thankfully, but Gavin once again felt reverent terror return to him when Justine took half a step forward. The tips of her boots were now hovering right above the dark blue ice rink as the snow kept steadily falling over the lands.

“JUSTINE!!! STOP!!!” He could hardly believe his own voice sounded this way; it was boisterous, beastly, and quite unpleasant, especially if he wanted to get a child’s attention.

Strangely, young Justine hardly reacted to it. Her back was still facing Gavin, and she wasn’t moving at all.

Nines ran off the bridge, bumping roughly into Gavin as he snapped, “Gavin! We have to stop her and get her away from there!”

Before he could leap ahead at her, Gavin grabbed his shoulders and pushed him back strongly. After trying to break free of the detective’s firm hold on himself a few more times and after being unsuccessful each time, Nines stood back and roared angrily.

“God damn it, Gavin!! Do something, or I will!!”

“Nines!” he hissed, making sure to keep his voice down, knowing that Justine was obviously listening. Turning over his shoulder quickly just to check if she was still there, he quickly stated to Nines, “Look, please just let me talk to her, okay? I know what she’s going through more than anyone else.” He didn’t want to say more than this to Nines for obvious reasons, so he didn’t. Eyes cast down at the snowy piles beneath themselves, Gavin blushed and uncomfortable shade of pink while Nines watched him carefully.

Steadying a hand on Gavin’s right shoulder, he gave his partner a small nod. He trusted him. Gavin saw it reflected in Nines’ eyes, there, and it filled him with courage and renewed hope in his own capabilities. All that he need to do now was put this to good use before it was too late.

Crunching down on the snow, he approached steadily, never once taking his eyes off Justine’s back. He tried to let her know he was growing near, as he didn’t want to surprise her and just pull her away kicking and screaming…no, that wouldn’t do at all, and it would likely make her fight back and cause an accident.

Inhaling and exhaling steadily, Gavin peered down at her boots. She’d raised her left leg, and she just barely managed to push some bits of snow from the edge of the pond directly over the first few inches of the icy surface. The snow resembled powder as it shifted over the glassy surface of the pond, but Gavin wasn’t here for sightseeing; he was here to save this young girl.

Making sure to smile even though she wasn’t looking at him, he then projected the smile in his voice as he spoke out to her as calmly as he could. “Hey!” sounding more like his twenty-year-old self, he took up an entirely friendly demeanor while maintaining his smile. “What’re you doing there, huh?”

As he watched her, he noticed that Justine hadn’t moved. Her left leg was still slightly raised off the ground, however, but at least she wasn’t taking a step forward to go onto the ice rink.

Though he was still on the side of caution, Gavin tried acting calm, natural, collected, and as friendly as possibly. He had half a mind that this young girl had fled her home to escape and catch a break from screaming, yelling, and highly authoritative adults. It was wise to consider the source, here, and the source was that this was a girl from a privileged life. However, did that necessarily mean she was without problems and stress?

Not entirely.

Seeing wasn’t always believing…

Taking cautious, measured steps forward, Gavin called to her gently, “It’s a nice view, huh?”

Again, Justine showed she hadn’t been affected by his words, and that made Gavin panic a little. He’d worked with some children her own age, and usually, whenever he distracted them with senseless, garrulous talk, it would eventually work without much of a fuss. It wasn’t working as quickly as he’d hoped for it to work on Justine, however. He needed to choose his words wisely and hope for the propitious moment to arrive where he could take her away.

Once he’d earned her trust…yes, he needed her to come willingly…

Trembling when he saw her swaying a little, he sensed deep in his gut that she was wavering between two choices; to move forward, or not to. Gavin’s words weren’t enough, but at least she hadn’t reacted poorly to him speaking to her.

But another approach was vital…

Hoping this wouldn’t backfire on himself somehow, the wary detective approached cautiously, trying to read the signs of when the situation could possibly take a calamitous direction far ahead of time. Kids were rather unpredictable at times, especially kids with trouble and stress in their lives. He knew he had to anticipate anything, be prepared for everything…

Eyes burning when he realized he hadn’t even blinked in half a minute, Gavin softly cooed out to her, “Why don’t you…uh…wh-why don’t you help me over there next to you so I can look at the nice view too?”

His words had sailed and floated into the air, bouncing right off her shoulders, it seemed. She was intent on shifting her feet in the snow. After kicking up more snow, she stretched out her hands to balance herself, and as Gavin gaped at her in pure horror, Justine moved herself a few inches forward. She was stepping closer and closer over the surface of the pond, the prints and design of the bottom of her boots leaving trails and indents in the thin sheen of snow layered over the dangerous ice.

No…

Panicking, Gavin felt himself sweating as he called out to her desperately, “Stop, Justine!!”

That seemed to do something to her. She froze midway in between taking another step with her right leg, and her head was raised higher.

Hurrying towards where she once previously stood, now, Gavin hissed out to her, voice already shrill. “Yes, I know your name!”

Ever so slowly, the little girl turned her neck to peek over her shoulder, though she’d still craned her head down so Gavin was unable to see much of her face when her hood covered her well.

Fumbling for words as he tried not making sudden movements to intimidate or frighten her into moving over the rest of the icy pond while the wind howled behind them, Gavin cried out weakly, “Justine! I know that you like to skate!”

The young girl was completely frozen. Gavin could seriously and confidently tell from her body language however that she was listening intently. Encouraged when he knew he had her attention, Gavin continued softly, reminding himself to maintain that same friendly tone and manner.

“How many years have you been skating?” was his next question, and he’d planned to speak as much about skating as possible with Justine. It was a relatively good tactic at distracting the young one, pulling her towards Gavin, and enabling them to find trust within each other.

Staring down at the ice beneath her feet, Gavin didn’t dare step closer. If his weight was added onto the thin sheen of ice, the results could be deadly and absolutely horrendous. It was also far too risky to swoop in and snatch her off the ice as well. There was no time, and again, he couldn’t risk getting on the ice to begin with lest it crack and break…

Focusing on remaining positive and warm in his approach, he remembered to smile as he asked her again, “Been skating long?”

….

There was nothing aside from a stony cold silence that cut in quite deeply through Gavin’s heart and skin. It was more chilling than the wind picking up the frozen snowflakes and whipping them high into the air before spitting them cruelly back into Gavin’s eyes like a bully. Justine stood there still, almost blending into the otherwise serene winter landscape.

When she failed to reply, he decided to dig deeper. Perhaps she was far too shy, but there were other ways he could establish trust and hopefully pull her away from the center of the dangerous ice rink not too far away waiting for her like a death trap.

Shaking against the icy wind, Gavin decided to talk a little bit about his own life. “I didn’t skate a lot when I was your age,” he began confidently, telling her the truth as he went through his memories as quickly as he could. “I mean, I remember one winter, I was playing hockey, but I slid and bashed my head on a rock, and my mom freaked out, so she never let me play again…” Chuckling as he vaguely remembered it all, he continued. “I liked skating because I could always see myself in the ice…my reflection…I don’t know…sometimes, it seems kind of—”

“Peaceful?”

He nearly broke apart when he heard her shy, meek voice for the first time ever. Nines gaped in awe, but he didn’t dare interrupt when he knew she’d finally responded to Gavin. Whatever the clever detective was doing, it was working, and he didn’t dare wish to intervene. He trusted Gavin with this completely.

Once he’d gotten over the initial shock of hearing Justine speaking to him for the first time, Gavin snapped to attention. She had turned gradually to the side, but she still wasn’t directly facing him, yet. This was still fine; they needed more time, and it was better she didn’t make any sudden movements…

Jaw quivering from the cold, Gavin coughed, “Peaceful! Yeah! Th-that’s why I used to play hockey a bit!”

“I don’t like hockey,” came her tiny voice again, and she took a tiny step backwards, making it so that she was getting closer and closer to the center of the pond.

Once again, Gavin felt panic stirring within the pit of his stomach. He had to fix this, before he completely lost her. Running through his thoughts wildly, he immediately went back to the topic of skating for the conversation. “Do you skate competitively?”

She lowered her head for a moment, and she shrugged, “I used to, but mommy doesn’t have time to take me for lessons anymore…”

This hurt. He didn’t need for her to speak a lot; she was already reminding him a lot of his own past. But perhaps through the pain, they would bond…he was willing to give that a shot.

Making sure he portrayed and presented nothing but empathy to her, then, he softly stated, “Sometimes our parents try to do the best they can for us, but since they’re not in our shoes, they don’t know what’s going on, right?”

As the wind calmed down significantly, Justine raised her head even more so at Gavin. He could almost see her eyes, now…

Swallowing as he kept his throat and mouth moist, he added on, “You have to remember that your mother and father love you very much, Justine.”

That was when she jerked her head up quickly, all the life brought to her frozen state at once. Gavin was met with a pair of black eyes and thick, black eyelashes. Her nose was entirely pink, indicative of the cold kissing her porcelain skin. As her tiny brows furrowed, she displayed raw anger as she cried vehemently, “If my mommy and daddy loved me like you said, then how come they argue so much and don’t spend enough time with me?!”

Again, guilt, pain, and sorrow slammed into Gavin’s heart. Internally, he was in pieces, and still going crazy.

As soon as he opened his mouth, however, the words he’d never meant to fly out came so naturally. “I asked myself the _same_ damn thing when I was your age.”

He’d blamed himself for everything, and he suspected that she’d been going through almost the same thing. Hoping it wouldn’t affect her badly, he hissed, “It’s not your fault at all, Justine. Sometimes, adults get angry with each other, and the reasons are really complicated for kids to understand.” Holding up his hands, he asserted thickly, “But it’s _not_ your fault! Don’t _ever_ blame yourself for it, do you hear me?”

Her eyes grew wet with tears, and she let out a tiny whimper. Then, she raised her right hand, and wiped her eyes with the back of her coat sleeves. Sniffling softly, she murmured, “I’m s-scared!”

He was, too, but he didn’t show it. He couldn’t afford that, right now. Only courage would save Justine, and Gavin forcefully drowned every bit of doubt, worry, and trepidation spinning around deeply in the pit of his stomach until not a trace of it was left.

Holding out his arms, he drew closer and closer to the edge, practically sinking into the snow as he cried, “It’s okay, Justine! I’m here! Just…just come to me, slowly!”

She stared down at the ice, crying a little louder, “I’m s-scared!! I heard the ice c-cracking!!”

Eyes widening, Gavin called out loudly, “Just make your way slowly to me, Justine! I promise once we’re out of here, I’ll make sure your parents take you for more skating!!” Waving at her, he desperately screamed, “Just please come here!!! Now!!”

It seemed as if nature was listening, and out to get them, somehow. As soon as he’d screamed and pleaded at her, the ice let out a groan, followed by a deep, rumbling crack. Justine and Gavin both froze, and their eyes grew as round as little golf balls.

“JUSTINE! COME TO ME!!!”

Taking the chance before it was too late, she relied on her instincts, and she dove towards him. As her feet kicked up into the air, the ice collapsed in several parts in the center. Justine screamed in terror, but she slid forward with both hands reaching for Gavin. The older male didn’t care any longer about his own safety; he dove towards her to grab her at once. His feet landed on the ice rink for a split second, and he caught out of the corners of his eyes the ice breaking away quickly. Like a deadly domino effect, it all caved and sank in, the water splashing down below as it swallowed and devoured the broken ice floes whole.

As just then, as he bent his body forward, tiny hands slipped into his larger ones. Fingers curled and wrapped around fingers, and Gavin rejoiced when he knew he had her. They stared at each other in equal amounts of relief, and Gavin yanked back on her hands. Justine crashed into his chest, and he wrapped his right hand around her shoulders and small back. She was protected and safe, now…

“I’ve got you!!!”

And then, Gavin felt hands yanking back on the center of his coat, and he flew backwards while still cradling Justine in his arms. They both were dragged through the snow, and as Gavin stared ahead, the pond grew far out of view while the ice completely collapsed. The dark, cold unforgiving waters swallowed the ice floes whole until every inch of the glassy surface had been devoured. Teetering backwards, Gavin fell down onto the snow, and he took Justine with him. Carefully holding her against himself, he made sure she wasn’t hurt. In an instant, she was lifted off his chest, and as Gavin peered up, he saw Nines firmly picking her up and holding her close.

Justine let out streams of broken sobs, wails, and she was crying out for her mother the entire time as Nines hugged her close. “Shh,” he soothed her in a deep voice, raking his hand through her hair when her hood fell back. “Your parents are on the way, Justine,” he assured her as he covered her head so she wouldn’t catch a cold.

“We’ve got you, don’t worry, we’ve got you…”

They’d saved her, and that was all Gavin cared about. As he lost his stamina due to conserving it for so long during that stressful situation, he felt it seeping out of his veins freely, now. He was beyond cold and tired, but he really was unable to move. His eyelids fluttered shut involuntarily, and he lay flatly into the snow. Thankfully, his mind and body cried out to him that this wasn’t ice; this was solid ground he’d fallen on, and it wasn’t going to be easily decimated beneath his weight.

The only thing he could hear were Justine’s cries, steadily calming down as Nines comforted her, and then sirens wailing in the distance as the police approached due to Nines no doubt having already called them.

Gavin only smiled when he felt snowflakes kissing his heated cheeks and the icy tip of his nose. Feeling beyond torpid and drained, the detective surrendered to his blearily scattered thoughts, all but remnants of something he didn’t have the energy to piece together.

_I’m proud of you, son. You did well. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ngl...this was sad, too.


	48. Update and Moving Forward

The definition of the word ‘sorry’ can mean anything, and a lot of people assign different ‘follow up’ actions to it as such. For me, if someone is genuinely remorseful and sorry, they make amends not to repeat the same poor behavior.

Actions for sure speak louder than words. After months of being pestered, it’s good progress to publicly apologize. I’ve been set back many days, many hours, and all because of someone’s inability to draw a boundary and respect my boundaries as a person. This is seriously sad when you’re in your mid-twenties, but I guess anyone can make mistakes throughout their lifetime regardless.

Myself, as well as the individual in the screenshots, do apologize for multiple setbacks, pauses throughout the chapter postings, and prolonged stupidity, for lack of a better word. This is a sort of ‘last chance’ I have given this person, since we know each other in real life, and as far as whether or not this situation gets out of hand again, I’m going to have to react in other ways, I’m sorry to report.

A few of you may know the history between myself and this individual, but for the sake of privacy and respect, I won’t keep repeating it on here. Needless to say, this person promised me they will try to find some help and support for their issues, and to that, I have to say I admire their efforts, and I genuinely do wish them well in all their future endeavors. It’s not easy to come forward and admit that you need help, but once that step is made, I feel it can be easier to manage in the long-run.

Anyway, that’s all I will say on this matter, because I don’t like dragging stuff out, and there’s a lot of personal stuff here that goes back and forth for many years (since high school). I am willing to bury the hatchet, so to speak, but as long as things can be civil and manageable. Life’s pretty stressful plenty for ALL of us, and that’s why I tend to flock to websites like these where I can vent, explore my thoughts, be creative, and build connections. I don’t enjoy having drama and issues on top of the ones I have going on in my life currently. No one does. I am hopeful that this is the end of all this as this person claims it is such, and I want to move on forward with the story. 

With that being said, I have to extend a huge thank you to people who remained calm throughout this, who reached out and dedicated their time, support, advice, listening ears, as well as understanding that was on a very high maturity level. You guys have been absolutely wonderful, understanding, logical, kind, and generous. Thank you guys for being yourselves, for being patient, compassionate, and thank you for being truthful. That’s what I value the most, and in spite of some crazy cases here and there, I am proud to say that I feel I have accrued a reader base that is highly intellectual widespread.

This story is going on forward, and I wanted it to be a publicly known thing that this person has apologized to me, and to you guys, most important of all.

With that being said, feel free to move to ‘Next Chapter’, and you will access the newest update. Once again guys, thank you for handling this professionally and maturely, and thank you all for extending your kindness.

LadyoftheMasque


	49. To Be Alive

Sometimes, in Gavin’s line of work, he found that doing the right thing-no matter the cost-was a thankless job. The gallant detective and his dour, taciturn android partner weren’t exactly ‘welcomed’ or greeted with open arms once Captain Fowler arrived at the park, all he did was glower down at a trembling Gavin while the paramedics checked for any injuries or signs of trauma sustained. Shaking uncontrollably as a thick, warm blanket had been draped over his shoulders, Gavin sat in pure silence while his stern superior lectured him and reminded him of other pressing, urgent issues regarding his altercation with Captain Allen’s relative, Gary. Even during more distant times such as this, it appeared as though the infernal man had to remain the cynosure of the DPD’s eyes.

Though Captain Fowler appreciated Gavin’s and Nines’ heroic deeds, he still wasn’t permitting them to return to work just yet. Gavin found he didn’t care, much. Justine was safe with her parents, and that was all that mattered to him. Now, with a clear piece of mind, he sat beside Nines in the car as they drove on towards what Gavin originally thought was going to be Nines’ apartment…only to find that Nines took them in the opposite direction.

Sitting up in his seat, Gavin noticed they were heading towards a major highway. Lifting a brow, he asked, “Nines? Where are you taking us?”

As the windshield wipers gently pushed back the snow and rain coming down steadily that late evening, Nines replied gently, “I want you to know that what you did for Justine was amazing, Gavin.”

Blushing, the other man snorted as he stated, “I was just doin’ my job, Nines; nothin’ miraculous happened, and you still didn’t answer my question.”

“I told you,” came Nines’ subdued, soft voice at his ears, “I want you to see that how you helped Justine is deeply appreciated to me, and I want to show you what I do...what I’ve been doing for some time now aside from working in the DPD.”

This was such an odd statement, and Gavin figured more than anything that it wasn’t a complete thought or sentence. Though he wasn’t entirely in the mood to uncover more information, he somehow sensed that the ride was going to be a rather long one. It was better to talk, he supposed.

“I already know what you do though, Nines,” he joked lightly, “I have to see your ugly mug every day, you know…in fact, I think it’s like a major part of my job description lately!”

Smiling warmly at him, Nines sighed out, “That’s only half of what I’m letting people see, Gavin.” Turning off the windshield wipers, he took to staring straight ahead out the windshield, now. “As you know, I have a whole other life outside the DPD, and that includes doing a lot of stuff you wouldn’t normally associate with me.”

It sounded a bit mysterious, and Gavin decided to play along as means of entertaining himself and Nines for the duration of the lengthy ride. Cheekily grinning, he asked, “Oh? And what exactly are these things that you do then, Nines?” Chuckling, he imagined Nines gardening, cooking, cleaning swimming pools, entertaining the elderly by dancing with them, and even dressing up in animal costumes in zoos or theme parks. The more exaggerated his thoughts became, the funnier this all was.

Nines didn’t snicker as he seriously answered, “I volunteer at a youth home for homeless teenagers and autistic children, Reed.”

The smile wiped itself off Gavin’s face as the words sank it. Almost feeling like he’d committed a crime, the other man gasped, “Oh…I’m sorry…”

Nines eyed him warily, “It’s fine; you didn’t know.”

Chewing on his lower lip while gazing out his side of the window to shield his embarrassment, Gavin inquired, “How long you been doin’ this?”

Pausing, Nines shifted in his seat uncomfortably before he answered, “Two years, almost.”

Gavin eyed him in the glass, but didn’t say much else as they drove on silently. He kept wondering why and what had inspired Nines to do this, but he supposed he could ask when they reached the youth home. Thankfully, it wasn’t a terribly long wait.

The home looked like a pretty decent house anyone with plenty of money owned and resided in. It had a mixture of brown and grey bricks, and the shingles looked to have been replaced. They shone nicely as the snow fell down and melted over them. The entire perimeter of the building however had been gated off from the outside world, though it didn’t look like a prison, thankfully. The windows were clean and tightly closed to keep in the warmth, and a lot of bright lights were on inside the establishment.

As Nines parked the vehicle and got out with Gavin, a lot of noises could be hearing coming from inside the house. It sounded like laughter and excitement.

“Follow me,” Nines whispered in a hushed tone, though it was more for the sake of respecting the levels of noise that had been posted and warned citizens outside the house.

Staring into the windows as they approached the front door, Gavin stated, “This isn’t a hospital.”

“No, it isn’t,” Nines replied, still smiling gently at him, “that’s what drew me to this place; its humanitarian and inclusive approach at making kids feel wanted and needed in a home; not being admitted to a hospital or other institutions.”

Before Gavin could offer some sort of insight or feedback, the door creaked open slowly. The noise it made trailed out in the air, and it caressed Gavin’s ears as he stood next to Nines closely. When the door opened widely enough, a tiny young boy stood in the doorway, bits of warm light surrounding him as he stared at Gavin first with curious soft brown eyes.

Gavin waved shyly, “Hey?”

The door then opened the rest of the way, and the person who’d opened it wasn’t a teenager or a child.

Now, standing right there in the open doorway before Nines and Gavin happened to be an older lady almost the same age as Gavin’s mother. She had long white hair longer than Carrie’s, however, and it was held back in a long, tight ponytail that had been draped to hang over her left shoulder. She wore a dark dress that hung down past her ankles, practically sweeping the floor with it. Her warm, green-grey eyes swept over Gavin’s form first, as he was a stranger. Then, the second she stared at Nines, one of the kindest, loveliest smiles appeared on her face. The skin about her eyes wrinkled pleasantly, and she looked so genuine and sweet.

Prying the door open wider, she gasped out softly, “Nines!! I’m so happy you’re visiting again!!” Motioning at Gavin, next, she exclaimed in glee, “And you brought a new friend!!!”

The wood of the old staircase behind the old woman groaned and creaked, and as Gavin peered over at it to see what was creating that specific type of a sound, he nearly gasped out loud. Standing behind the older woman happened to be at least fifteen or so young boys and girls. They were of all ages and of all racial backgrounds, Gavin found. They gazed cautiously, curiously, and calmly at Gavin the most, and it was all because he was new. However, when they saw Nines, excited smiles broke out onto their faces, and a few of the bolder ones raced towards Nines while crying out for him repeatedly.

As they stood around him in a tight circle while the youngest, shortest ones hugged him tightly, the elderly woman turned towards Gavin, and she smiled, her appearance and overall manner effete.

“And you are?”

~0~0~0~0~0

The house had three floors, and Gavin soon found that while the children and teenagers were permitted to roam around free and do as they pleased in order to feel comfortable and ‘at home’, they weren’t allowed to wander into certain rooms. These rooms had been marked cleverly with a tiny red star sticker right on the door handle, and Gavin soon learned that the more problematic children were kept in these rooms by themselves, usually. Some of these children weren’t problematic in the sense that they were belligerent or unruly, however; instead they just had a sea of other realistic problems their peers didn’t quite understand yet. Gavin noticed that a lot of the children kept in their rooms with the red stickers were autistic, or had some sort of intellectual learning disability. They seemed bright and well mannered, however, and when they kept to themselves, the detective noticed that they were engaged in their own fun activities.

A lot of them were artistic or interested in arts and crafts, and they would draw, paint, knit, and sometimes just create models of places and landscapes like Nines had done in his apartment. It was odd seeing a few models of Detroit in their rooms as well…

The other teenagers and kids entertained themselves in the ways most kids would do; by reading, playing video games, listening to music, sometimes chasing each other about while roughhousing, and eating lots of snacks and food whenever they could. After fifteen minutes of staring away at Gavin in awe, they soon got used to him and didn’t even notice how much of a stranger he was. It suited Gavin just fine, as he’d been too shy and decided to stay close to Nines. The RK900 knew his way around this place as if it were a second home to him. Gavin supposed that Nines really had to have spent a lot of time here to be this comfortable around children and teenagers who obviously had both mental health issues of all kinds, as well as social and emotional issues. But a lot of these teenagers and kids still managed to interact perfectly fine with Nines.

As they sat at a long kitchen island and leaned over the counter, Nines sat with one young girl leaning against his shoulder on his right, and one younger boy perched comfortably on his lap. The boy in Nines’ lap had difficulty maintaining eye contact, and his social cues were terribly off. It didn’t take Gavin long to figure out that the boy was highly autistic, but he seemed comfortable with only Nines holding him. The young girl next to Nines was rather chatty, and she was awfully friendly. At first, her appearance had thrown Gavin off, and he hated that he’d been so small minded and meager to rely on his sights to draw his own conclusions.

The young girl had very thin hair, and in some areas of her skull, her hair had been torn out by handfuls…almost as if she herself had done it or someone else…Gavin supposed she had a severe case of trichotillomania, but he didn’t dare ask. When Nines gently elbowed him for staring at her head for too long, he tore his eyes off the young girl’s scalp and instead focused on other things, such as her frame and stature.

She was super thin for her age, which Gavin later on found out was almost fourteen. Due to her thin body frame, he assumed she was hardly ten. She wore baggy clothing, especially her sweater. Her sweater was at least four sizes too big and long, and Gavin noticed she held her arms tightly around herself…

Her name was Penny, and she was by far the most interesting little girl Gavin had ever seen. Talking a mile a minute, when she found out he was a detective, she asked him at least twenty questions before the old lady running the establishment known as Marta laughed and offered Gavin a steaming fresh mug of coffee.

While Nines held the boy named Thomas on his lap carefully, Gavin and Marta smiled politely and cordially at one another. The entire environment and mood surrounding them all was affable as could be, but Marta’s eyes seemed to hold a question or two for Gavin. She took her time to study the younger man for some time until she was ‘content’ with whatever she’d found. Thankfully, judging by the large look of approval on her face, Gavin concluded she thought rather well of him.

She sat right in front of him on the other side of the kitchen island while a few boys and one girl sat in the open concept living room, watching TV, dancing, singing songs, and being goofy. Their laughter overpowered the music emanating from the TV’s speakers, but Gavin found he didn’t mind it a lot.

Marta shifted on her stool, reaching up with a hand and pushing her ponytail to hang directly over her right shoulder, now. As her eyes swept over his face a few times, she gently asked in a very warm, yet neutral tone, “Detective Gavin Reed, may I ask for how long you’ve been acquainted with Nines?”

Shyly, Gavin scratched his temples as he eventually snorted lightly, “Umm, well, we’ve known each other for two years, and then-aah!!!” He’d been interrupted when he felt something tickling his legs. Thinking it’d been a bug or a spider at first, he tried not to flip out and run the risk of upsetting Thomas or Penny…as well as looking like an overgrown man-child.

Pushing his stool back, Gavin gazed down at his feet, and he nearly cried out again when he saw a pair of light brown eyes staring up at him. A tiny hand clamped over the mouth, and the little boy Gavin guessed was almost seven or so years old giggled as he held up a tiny red feather and caressed Gavin’s ankles with it beneath the hem of his pant legs.

Of course.

He smirked at the young boy, and then Marta giggled as well before intoning, “I see that Julius has taken quite a shine to you, detective.”

Glancing back up at her, Gavin nodded, “They’re good kids…all of them.”

As Nines beamed at him in pride, Marta sat back and folded her hands in her lap. A tea kettle went off near the stove, and an older girl ran immediately into the kitchen as she attended to it and poured fresh tea for Marta. The older woman accepted it gleefully.

“I love what I do,” she sighed as she wrapped a hand around the cup, trying to stay warm as the wind outside howled and whistled. Marta stared forlornly at the kitchen windows before smiling back at Gavin. “Christmas time is the best around here, and I must say that this year is looking superb because our Nines has someone special in his life!!”

At once, Gavin flushed deep pink. He truly wondered just how much Nines had told Marta about him, but he found he wasn’t angry, strangely. All he could do was nod and smile, and he hoped it would suffice. He didn’t want Marta asking him more questions, and thankfully, she took to sipping her tea while Nines gently rocked Thomas in his lap. Eventually, though he’d appreciated the gentle gestures, the youngster soon grew tired of it.

Politely staring at Nines’ LED light instead of at his eyes directly, Thomas gently-and without any specific emotions evident in his voice-spoke out, “I would like to come down now, Nines.”

Chuckling warmly, the android set him down while Penny curled her hands deeply into her over-sized sweater’s sleeves. Thomas walked away slowly into another room, leaving the others in the kitchen. As Nines sat up to try and participate and contribute to the conversation, however, at least four new boys Gavin hadn’t seen before burst up into the kitchen from a basement door flung wide open next to the spice and snack closet. They chanted the android’s name like a lovely prayer, and they tugged at his clothes as they dragged him off his stool.

Laughing at the sight of it, Marta cried out, “It’s best you go with them then, Nines!! They haven’t seen you in months, and trust me, it’ll take more than an hour until they’re satisfied!!”

Relenting, Nines decided to go with them, smiling and laughing the entire way. As Gavin watched him, he found he rather enjoyed hearing and seeing Nines so happy…was he ever this happy when they were together, though?!

Pondering it for a moment, Gavin didn’t see the way Marta caught onto his previously over joyous look crumbling and dying down into a sullen, pensive look. Grimacing as he wondered just how big of a pain in the ass he must’ve been to Nines, he was startled when Marta reached out and gently placed her warm hands on the backs of his own.

As he leapt high in the air off his seat, Penny stared at him in silence, her face betraying nothing while Marta sighed softly.

“Detective,” she began, sounding almost maternal for a moment before her face grew as serious as her next words. “Nines is a good man, and he doesn’t let many people close in his life.”

Frowning when he heard this and took it all in, Gavin inquired, “What exactly does he do here often?”

Thinking about it for a quick moment, the smile grew on Marta’s face as she listed Nines’ tasks eagerly and proudly. “He helps some of the children who never got a chance to learn how to read, write, do arithmetic, as well as get their lives in order by helping them with a routine, schedule. He provides for a lot of them guidance, is a good listening ear, a shoulder to cry on, a friend in the darkest of places, and he shows genuine concern, empathy, and compassion. He sings, laughs, dances, and has held weeping children through the night.” Waving her arms about, she sighed, “These children are mostly orphans, and only due to the fact that their parents couldn’t be bothered to understand just what they were going through.”

Catching on, Gavin whispered, “So they just left them here instead of—”

“I’m afraid so,” Marta interrupted, cutting him off when she noticed how uneasy Penny looked. She was fidgeting a lot, and staring at her sleeves…

Gavin sighed as he finished his coffee while Marta again took her time studying him. As she did this, another teenage girl entered the kitchen, and she soon stood behind Marta with a comb in her hand. Gathering the older woman’s long ponytail back in her hands, she slowly stroked and combed through the tips and ends of the hair, humming gently as she engaged in her task.

Setting his coffee mug down onto the kitchen counter, Gavin began to wonder just where Nines was, when Marta leaned forward. Catching his attention, she smiled a charming smile as she whispered to him, “I’m really happy to see that Nines has someone with him, now. You two seem to be really close, and it’s what I feel he deserves and needs the most.”

Penny’s stool legs rattled and slid along the tiled floors loudly, and she glanced at Gavin before running out of the kitchen hurriedly. The teenager brushing Marta’s hair did the same a few seconds later, still humming as her sweet voice trailed in the air after her, and still rang about in Gavin’s ears.

When she was gone, Gavin stared at his mug. He felt so out of place now that Nines was gone, and as kind and as gentle as Marta had proved to be, he didn’t like how wise and deep her eyes were. It seemed as if she really knew him well with just one glance, and he felt as though she had the power to stare directly into his heart and mind. Not wanting to feel vulnerable and exposed, he supposed the best thing to do was to make use of his ‘fight or flight’ instincts, and he wanted to flee.

Carrying his cup towards the large kitchen sinks, he cleared his throat as he said to her turned back, “Umm, thanks for th-the coffee and the chat, Marta…” Motioning outside the kitchen, he awkwardly fumbled for his words before taking a few steps back. “I’m just gonna go join Nines, and uh…yeah…just see if he needs help?” He winced at how dumb this all sounded, but Marta slowly turned to stare at him over her thin shoulders.

Only warmth, empathy, and fondness shone forth in her eyes. “Of course, Detective Reed,” bowing her head in obeisance, she stated, “do whatever you must, and please know one thing…” Waiting until Gavin felt tense due to how long she’d paused, she watched in amusement as he leaned forward slightly. 

Teeth gleaming at him, she said warmly, “This is a place where you too are now welcome; feel free to come visit and chat anytime.”

~0~0~0~0~0

Penny was a self-harmer, he learned when he questioned Nines about her on the way home. As Gavin drove towards Nines’ apartment for the night, it was with a very heavy heart that he discovered that Penny had been a victim of parental and familial abuse for many years before her parents kicked her out of their house. He didn’t want to think about it more, but it all made sense when he recalled the loose, baggy clothing meant to conceal…

Wondering just how many more of the children suffered this way at the hands of inept parents who didn’t deserve them, Gavin felt his heart burning and aching by the time he reached his own ‘room’ in Nines’ apartment. He hadn’t been able to sleep that same night, and things didn’t get any better on the morning of December 11th.

Waking up with a splitting headache, Gavin prepared his own coffee, while Nines remained in the laundry room down below washing their clothes. Appreciating the privacy and space, Gavin was able to clearly think things through for the first time as he sat near one of the windows in the kitchen. With his coffee swirling the steam up into the air like a dancing demon of sorts, he blew lightly over the top of it, eager to get it to cool down as he tried shifting through his messed-up thoughts.

The world didn’t seem to want to allow him any peace and silence to think, however. Dr. Rivera rang incessantly to the point where Gavin completely shut off his phone. He was in such a bad mood, that he ended up pouring the rest of his cold coffee down the kitchen sink, and he instead resorted to smoking four cigarettes one right after another outside while pacing around Nines’ apartment parking lot. Needless to say, Gavin Reed was beyond irate, and he didn’t know what to do.

Fight or flight…

…..

He needed to leave.

Only turning on his phone to text Nines with a small note of where he was headed, he then got in his car and drove off towards the same mall he’d previously been in with Nines.

It seemed so long ago, now, and yet the same designs, decorations, and performances were all here at slightly ten in the morning. Though he didn’t particularly enjoy shopping alone or going anywhere alone, he found he needed it, now. His mind was already murky and muddled with a lot of strange thoughts, and as Gavin weaved his way through the slightly crowded mall, he found that majority of these thoughts centered a lot around Nines.

What was he specifically feeling for Nines??

Well, Gavin knew he trusted him. Trust was difficult for the detective to hand out, but he felt that Nines had unconsciously worked hard to gain that trust. It was well earned, and Gavin knew he was slowly starting to give more of his trust to Nines. Seeing and hearing of him working with disadvantaged children who loved being around him and seemed to feel as though Nines had lit the room the moment he walked in, Gavin knew the android could be trusted around even the most damaged of individuals. Nines showed empathy, loyalty, and not just with the teenagers and young kids; he’d done so with Gavin.

Somehow, he was _always _there to take care of him. He’d been Gavin’s knight in shining armor on two occasions, and Gavin couldn’t deny that he needed saving. Nines had saved him, and he’d stuck with him by his side through every ordeal. His problems weren’t Nines’ problems, yet the android somehow took it upon himself to care enough about Gavin’s problems as though they were his very own. That was a level of loyalty Gavin hadn’t even seen in his long-time college and high school friends. In fact, a lack of that dedication and loyalty had led to Gavin cutting a lot of these so called ‘friends’ out of his life to begin with.

But he couldn’t even dream of cutting Nines out…no…to cut Nines out would mean cutting a piece of himself that felt good, and seemed to be the only best part of Gavin Reed…

What was he doing?!?! What was he thinking?!?! Was Nines right?! Was he right about him all along? Was he only using Nines for his own personal gain and benefit???

For once, Gavin really didn’t know. Perhaps Nines had been accurate, perhaps not. All he knew for certain was that he didn’t enjoy thinking about Nines not being there at his side. It hurt…it really hurt to think of it that way. They’d shared so much, and they’d been through so much together as more than partners…Nines mattered. Nines was special, as Marta had said.

Just as he’d been still thinking about all this, Gavin didn’t see that he’d unwittingly walked straight into a shopping cart. His body alerted him to it, however. The pain was loyal in the fact that it burst through his knees and chest; the parts that had collided and rammed with the shopping cart the most.

Massaging and rubbing those areas, he winced as he stared down at his feet and whimpered out painfully, “S-sorry about that, but you should really look where you’re go—” The words died down in his throat when he glanced up.

It was Marsha again, and she looked just as scared and confused to see him as he was to see her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Marta reminds me of Miss Peregrine. Not sure why.  
And oh shoot, Marsha's back! O.o


	50. Something Beautiful

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to anonymous for drawing that hilarious comic of Marsha and Nines in S and M black leather and getup! LOOOOL , it made me smile and laugh like a fool!

Marsha had recently colored her hair pitch black. It practically gleamed and shone so brightly beneath the lights of the store Gavin had wandered in, which he discovered to be Walmart. Once he’d snapped out of his musings and thoughts, he took a good look around himself, first, and then at Marsha. It was as though he was seeing a ghost!! He never thought he’d see her again, but she stood right before him there clear as day. Her raven-colored hair hung like a beautiful, thick curtain on both sides of her body way past her shoulders, though stopping well before her waistline. She perhaps had cut it since the last time he’d seen her. She was wearing a fancy, lovely white and black patterned coat that sat just up to her thighs. Her long legs showed off her black skinny jeans resting over black high-heeled boots as shiny as her hair. Her eyes widened when she looked at him, and like always, her makeup was perfectly and meticulously done.

Marsha appeared to be shopping alone today, and peeking into her cart quickly, Gavin knew precisely why. She was Christmas shopping for her whole family and relatives, and she was meaning to keep the gifts all a surprise. She’d picked up new wool socks for Charles, a new bathrobe, as well as a brand-new dark tie for him. For Nathan, Marsha had picked up an iPhone with the newest generation and model, plenty of Christmas candy, new underwear, and a new video game Gavin supposed was the ‘hot pick’ of the month type of thing. The shopping cart looked full, as Marsha had stacked it to the top with other assortments of gifts, food, as well as decorations for her house. She seemed so ‘homey’, yet the way she stared at Gavin made the man feel too sensitive and protective over himself.

Was she judging him as she narrowed her eyes into tiny slits at him?! He could only wonder as he gaped at her for as long as she glared at him.

Eventually, Gavin figured it was better to just ‘break the ice’ instead of standing around like some freak with nothing on his mind. The fact was that he had a lot to say to her, but he honestly didn’t know where to begin…perhaps ‘hello, how is it going?’ was in order…

Deciding to go with that, Gavin weakly waved at her as he grunted out painfully, “H-hey Marsha, how’s it going?” Right away, he was met with a glare unlike any he’d seen her throwing his way since they dated back in high school so long ago. It made him freak out again as it’d done before, and he recoiled, ready for her to unleash a litany of swear words at him or just to kick up a fit…

Well, if Gavin had been expecting a vitriolic, irate response and violent reaction out of her, he was shocked and frightened to see that she hadn’t reacted that way at all. Instead of throwing things at him like her teenage self had once done, Marsha glared for a few more seconds, and then like water washing something clean away, her angry expression disappeared right away. Now, she looked exhausted, weak, and like she was about to give up on everything entirely.

Pushing her shopping cart aside so it rested along the isle, she took her purse off her right shoulder, and dumped it into the cart on top of her groceries. The bags crinkled and made noises of protest as the weight of the purse squashed them. Marsha followed the noises up with a loud, long sigh that added on to the idea of her being completely worn out. She crossed her arms over her chest and asked Gavin, “What is it you want, Reed?”

Gavin gaped at her, and a tiny squeak escaped from him as he croaked out, “Wha—I!!” His jaw fell open wider, and Gavin felt it really straining and hurting. Time to close it!!!

Massaging it once due to how ‘stuck’ it got, Gavin eventually closed his mouth, though not before hearing Marsha hiss, “The nerve.”

Right away, he grew defensive.

All glares, he spat, “Oh yes, ‘the nerve’! You’re one to talk, Marsha.”

Nothing except animosity grew between them until it was almost smothering them both. As signs of a possible picayune squabbling still permeated the air surrounding them, Gavin and Marsha stubbornly refused to back down. Though they didn’t sling insults back and forth, Marsha took a step forward, and due to how much taller than Gavin she was, the short man glared up at her just in sheer envy alone.

Lips shining due to her lip gloss, Marsha snapped vociferously at him, her patience thin. “You looked down upon Charles and I; treated us like some sick perverts!! How could you, Gavin!?” Shamefully shaking her head at him, she added, “I thought we were all getting along relatively well, and then you had to demonize us!!”

Throwing his hands in the air, Gavin cried vehemently, “Getting along?! Marsha!” Face scrunched up, he reminded himself of where they were, and thus, he used his ‘indoor’ voice. “You put Nines and I in a very uncomfortable position, so what the hell were you expectin’, huh?!”

She was silent as she stood back, and for once, Gavin saw that she was listening and observing him. She’d never done this when they were younger, but it didn’t matter. Knowing he had her attention, he clasped his hands together, pressed them against his chest right above his beating heart, and tried to calm down.

Emitting a strained laugh as he lowered his hands when they ceased shaking, Gavin shook his head slowly as he said, “I honestly think you and your husband are good people, Marsha, and I’m _not_ bullshitting you.” Shifting awkwardly, he felt some pain shooting up from the heels of his winter boots and kicking up into his lower back. Wincing, he leaned most of his weight on the shelves behind himself as he explained, “Look, Marsha, it hasn’t been easy for me, and Nines especially is having some difficulty…I guess you could say that we aren’t really a conventional couple, and—”

Holding up a hand, she cut him off, though not in an unkind, unfriendly way. A small smile began in her eyes, first, and then on her pink lips. “Gavin,” she whispered his name calmly and serenely, and he relaxed substantially. Eyes glowing brightly, she suggested, “Wanna get something to eat in the food court? I just noticed it’s getting closer to noon, and we can talk while we eat…”

He thought about it, but right as he’d been in the middle of coming up with a way to reject her, she chuckled, “I’ll pay, of course.”

……

Who was he to deny free food?

“Umm yeah,” his smile grew to be as big as hers, then. “I sure could eat.”

~0~0~0~0~0

Gavin and Marsha ordered a small pizza half with vegetarian toppings for Marsha, and on the other half of the pizza was the classic bacon, pepperoni, and ground beef. Dividing their slices up appropriately, they soon found a small table for two to sit at in the middle of the large food court. It was now super busy, seeing as it was noon, though a lot of teenagers hung around in the mall more so than adults. Well, as it happened to be a workday, Gavin suspected a lot of them were skipping classes, or perhaps had been let out early…not that it was his concern. He only was able to see them whenever they ran or walked by, and he could hear their voices booming and laughing as he sat himself down in front of Marsha.

She shrugged out of her heavy winter coat, already sweating a little. Her cheeks were rather flushed, but it was from a sudden surge of heat; not meekness. Marsha wasn’t one to really be shy…

Shifting her bags of groceries onto a vacant chair at the table next to theirs, Marsha kept an eye on her belongings, and she placed a napkin onto her lap neatly. She was wearing a cream-colored fluffy sweater with black buttons, and it looked clean and super new. Gavin supposed she couldn’t afford to tolerate even the slightest speck of dust on them. Ever the perfectionist. Daintily, as she took care of herself perfectly well while picking at the crust of her pizza, she calmly asked, “So what have you and Nines been up to since you last saw us?”

Gavin truly wondered when the time would arrive where he would be liberated from having to answer such loaded, compact questions. Way too much had been said and done between Nines and himself, and everything was just…still rapidly declining…or so he thought, anyway. They’d been through enough, and he had plenty of his own experiences to add onto the layers, but he didn’t know where to even begin.

Stymied, he scratched the back of his neck feverishly, the move an act that was facsimiled for his blatant discomfort. Twitching his fingers and toes erratically to a beat no one could hear, he remained devoted to ignoring Marsha’s inquisitive eyes on himself as he grunted out between hurried bites, “Well, far too much shit has happened, so I’m not sure what I can tell you.”

Naturally, she inquired, “Good or bad things?”

Fear was now pervasive and entrenched in his veins, but Gavin didn’t want to slip up. Marsha was a rather clever and cunning woman, and he knew that she was looking for any signs of trouble…or drama. She fed off it, unfortunately, and even though she’d matured well in other areas, Gavin still found her to be immature and lacking in other ways.

Hanging his head low, he concealed his true emotions in his eyes from her. If given the chance, she would take anything and run away with it. With that in mind, he made sure to shrug nonchalantly as he exclaimed, “Every couple goes through their fair share of shit, Marsha. Nothin’ excitin’ to see here.”

Ossified right to the very core in how he’d handled things in such a closed-off manner, Gavin picked apart his pizza, throwing away the burnt and crispy beef before he took the first bite. Fuck…it was already cold…

Munching away even though it wasn’t much to his liking, he knew Marsha was staring intently at him. Trying not to let it get to him, he finished one slice, but before he could reach for another, Marsha’s hand slapped down and snatched up his wrist.

“Hey!”

She held him tightly, and only when he looked up at her did she continue.

“Gavin, look at me.”

Ignoring her, he stubbornly stared at the table, but she yanked quite hard on his wrist again, demanding his attention.

Glowering at her, he hissed, “Marsha, how’re you so strong?!”

“I said look at me, Gavin.”

Did he have any other choice??

…..

No, he found he didn’t.

Though this was something slightly on the side of ‘uncomfortable’ and ‘problematic’ for him, Gavin bit down hard on his tongue and on his lower lip. His mouth had suddenly gone horribly dry, but he found he was unable to even swallow. He was just frozen. So he looked up as she’d demanded…

Slowly, he stared at Marsha’s chin, cheekbones, and as he took his time to admire her clear, porcelain skin, makeup, long, thick eyelashes, bangs, hair color, and jewelry, it took him nearly an age to stare into her eyes as deeply as she had for him. She was patient in her assessment, however, and she let him take his time until he made the first move and maintained eye contact for longer than a minute.

Nodding, she gushed out, “Good. Now, I need you to talk to me about Nines, Gavin.”

Still not breaking away from her gaze, Gavin affirmed, “There’s nothing wrong.”

Releasing his wrist slowly, Marsha propped a hand up beneath her chin as she studied him carefully. Breaking out into a gentle smile, she sighed, “I never accused you of going through something ‘wrong’ with Nines, Gavin…” Inclining her head while Gavin closed his eyes and nearly slapped himself in the face for revealing so much already, Marsha giggled lightly. “But I think that little Freudian slip there told me plenty.”

Pushing the pizza slices to the side of their plate, she inched herself closer on her chair, and she crossed her arms over her chest. Gavin opened his eyes and they bore into hers as he weakly whispered, “Fine. Let’s talk.”

Giving him a curt nod, Marsha inquired softly, “I know it’s not really my business or place to say, Gavin, but why don’t we start with a ‘no bullshit’ type of zone here, okay?” As he’d been meaning to ask her what that meant, she went the extra mile and spoke out, “I’m not here to judge you, so speak freely here.”

Well…that somehow relaxed him, yet it didn’t. Gavin hadn’t seen much of Marsha aside from the restaurant ordeal, as well as the ‘after events’ at her house, and he still had a rather sour and unpleasant taste from that. However, be that as it may, he saw that she really wanted to help, and she didn’t seem to hold any ulterior motives. Her husband wasn’t around, neither was her son. She wouldn’t be influenced by either of them, and Gavin supposed that’s also what Marsha had meant by ‘no bullshit’ zones.

Very well. He could go with that.

Trying to make sure no one was around by peeking up around themselves, Gavin nodded, giving her the nonverbal ‘okay’ to go.

Smiling in gratitude, she waited before asking, “First off, why are you with a man, Gavin?” Pausing, she quickly covered for herself, as though being rather obsequious to a particular group or another. “I mean, it’s okay to be…you know, ‘gay’,” she quickly pushed out, “but I just…it’s just tough to see that because you were such a ‘girl’ or ‘chick magnet’ in high school and I’m sure you maintained that status in college.”

“Well,” Gavin began, coughing as he felt uncomfortable with her using the word ‘gay’, “I was, and in some ways, I’m _still_ diggin’ chicks, but it’s like…” wheezing, he stopped talking at once. He seriously had no idea how to put it, but thankfully, Marsha got it.

“Ooooh,” she nodded slowly, “you only feel this way for Nines?”

Well, he didn’t…did he??

Not liking that she had bent his words and instilled many tempestuous feelings within himself, Gavin shook his head. “Marsha, that’s…that’s not what I said.”

Shifting, she held up her hands as she nodded, “You’re right, you’re right, I’m sorry, Gavin.” Flushing, she sighed as she suggested, “Well, let’s start with this, then…” Eyes widening, she continued, “Would you like to tell me what you really like about Nines?”

…..

He could go with that, too.

“O-okay,” Gavin half-chuckled, “not sure how long the list will be, though.” Marsha hadn’t laughed at his joke, so he made a quick mental note not to make anymore.

Closing his eyes, he then relied on his memory of Nines to help him in forming the answer. Not wanting to deviate at all and paint his partner in a bad picture, Gavin finally relented and told her everything that was on his mind and heart.

“At first, I was really weirded out because he’s a guy, but also because he’s an android,” the truth poured out, unbridled and clear as day. “I didn’t think we could get along because I didn’t know how much we have in common, but you know what’s funny?” He paused and took his time to laugh as he orated softly, “Nines likes pleasing me. I mean,” he pointed at his hair, “he legit went and colored his hair black, changed the style of his hair when I mentioned something about the way it was before, and fuck, even the clothes he wears, I picked them out for him…”

Marsha smiled pleasantly, but her face remained otherwise difficult to read.

Not minding it, Gavin pressed on, though his own smile grew wider and larger as he regaled more and more to her. “Next, Nines got a tattoo on his arm, and only because I just randomly blurted out that I thought it would look cool on him with his getup.”

Picking some cheese off her pizza, Marsha asked softly, “Were you trying to mock him?”

Breath hitching in his throat, Gavin found that although he’d wanted to lie, he just couldn’t bring himself to do it. Smiling a sad smile, he admitted sorrowfully, “Yeah…I was a dick at first…” Sighing, he pressed a hand on his forehead as he expounded, “I was only kidding before, but the guy just somehow made it his one mission and only true goal in life to please me, make me happy whenever he could, and he even did that at the expense of putting himself out there on the line.” Snickering, Gavin held a hand up to his mouth, wiping his lips as he muttered, “He’s a real kind guy, though. He took care of me when I wanted to find my kittens good homes. He helped take care of me when I was sick with the flu, and he even defended me a few times when some sons of bitches…” Wincing, he found he couldn’t continue with that horrific memory experienced and gained from _The Mangled Mermaid_, so he instead began an entirely new thought.

“Nines is gentle, Nines is kind, he is patient enough to up with my weird moods and shit, and I feel like I can tell him anything. When I look at him,” Gavin threw his head back and laughed a little. “I dunno, Marsha…when I look at him, it’s like…something’s there…” Stressing the word, he repeated, “_Something’s_ there that wasn’t there with the other women I dated, and it just helps me so much.” Feeling the need to clarify, he stated in addendum, “It pulls me in, makes me want to be there and not let go, and I just find that I’ve been feelin’ better whenever I’m near him, and I’m smilin’ more…”

He was even smiling right now…

Feeling the stretch of his cheeks moving up along his cheekbones and his eyes wrinkling in the corners as he smiled, Gavin softly trembled. “You should see what else Nines does, Marsha. He takes care of kids who are disadvantaged and orphans in his spare time. That’s empathy right there, and he’s just…” shaking, Gavin whispered, “I’m just so proud of him…he’s…he’s…”

It didn’t need to be said; it was felt.

Marsha still hadn’t jumped in to speak, and Gavin really admired her for that. He knew however that the burning and itching feeling to do so was driving her insane. He could see it in her eyes, and he saw her fingers twitching. Placing her hands in her lap, she maintained her smile, and she was quiet as ever.

Appreciating it, Gavin felt the feelings finally washing over himself as he softly held up both his hands and placed them on his stubbly cheeks. Relishing in the soft and rough contrast he felt there as his hands rubbed his cheeks, it took him a while before he closed his eyes, tilted his head back, and felt the warm gusts of the heaters above blasting warm air down upon the top of his skull. It felt so warm and lovely that he wanted to sleep…but he didn’t. He was at his highest level of comfort, both physically, and emotionally.

Lowering his head back down, he let his hands drop away from his face, and like weak limbs, they plopped down at his sides. Allowing a sad moan to escape his mouth, Gavin explained, “It has nothing to do with gender; not when you really care about someone.” Moving, he held his arms up again by his face as he elucidated to her, “I’m sure you know what it’s like, Marsha, but to have someone there, to be able to look at them, and then know that they just _get it_…” His breath hitched in his throat, and he shook violently.

_This is…_

…..

“I think…I think I love him…”

And what a relief it was for Gavin Reed to finally say those words he’d been wanting to say about Nines. Having them all pent up and caught in his heart and bubbling about in his throat was no good. Now, it served a purpose, and as he heard himself whispering it again and again, he caught the endearing smile Marsha sent his way. She truly seemed vicariously happy on his behalf, and she sniffled once before she sat back and just watched him.

Now that his feelings were somewhat clear out in the open, Gavin was compelled to do something to validate those potent feelings for Nines. He deserved it, after everything…

Staring up at Marsha, Gavin cried out, “I want to get him something for Christmas…but I don’t know what he would like?!”

Knowing he was searching for the answers, Marsha gaped at him, and then drew her shoulders up into her neck as she calmly uttered, “But Gavin, I’m afraid I can’t help you!”

“You can!” Standing up quickly, he ran to her side as he leaned over her. Pleading more so with his eyes, he then cried out desperately, “Marsha! You’ve been married for a while, and since your marriage seems to be working well, can you please help me just this once?!?!” Eyeing her levels reluctance rising, Gavin hounded her doggedly. “Please! You went shopping today for Charles and Nathan! You can—”

“No, Gavin,” she stated firmly, and it shut him up on the spot. Marsha didn’t even need to stand up to have Gavin feel reduced to a short, tiny man once again, and he winced as he backed away from the table.

Wishing he could take her scrutinizing eyes off himself, he whispered, “But why can’t you help me???”

“It’s because my situation is completely different in comparison to yours, Gavin,” Marsha explained. “I’ve been married for a while; I don’t need to prove my love in the same way someone does in the early stages of a relationship.”

He knew exactly what she meant, and it stung him.

“This is serious, Gavin,” she continued as his eyes turned to gaze down at the floor. “If you want to get Nines a gift, you have to get one all by yourself, and it has to come directly from _you_ without anyone else’s interference or influence.”

Only then would it be really authentic and special.

She didn’t need to say anything else, and Gavin sat back down in front of her. He felt relieved for the opportunity to get to talk to her about this, but Gavin would’ve been lying if he claimed he felt 100% better after the experience of ‘confessing’.

Now, the ideas surrounding Nines’ gift were dark, murky, and so very unclear.

And he had no idea how to even address them for himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Marsha's the consoling friend we all need.


	51. Missed Chances

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Music in this chapter belongs to Twisted Sister.  
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tno5nluLj1I

Gavin reached the apartment he now shared with Nines almost around seven that same day. It felt so odd to him having to drive through the city in a completely different direction. He’d grown so accustomed to driving down one area and one road for many years, and now, he always had to catch himself ahead of time before he went down a different path altogether. This new path…it branched out and reflected in two ways, Gavin realized. Physically, there was the road to Nines his car traveled along. Yes, that was quite easily a mark, and he almost took for granted how sensibly it came to the surface level of his urgent thoughts. But more than that, there was the spiritual, emotional journey laid out for him to Nines…

No matter what, it always seemed like his thoughts ventured back to Nines, illustrating that more than ever, the once distant and removed RK900 wasn’t as ‘aloof’ and vacant from Gavin’s heart as he’d struggled to keep. No, perhaps the path taken to reach Nines was also something that came as a second habit to himself, now.

Lost in his burning thoughts, in no time, he’d reached Nines’ apartment. As he rode the elevator up, he checked his phone. Well…he’d wanted to, but he discovered that since he hadn’t charged it since yesterday afternoon, the battery had completely died at this hour of the evening.

He knew Nines was going to be pissed with him, now. He’d stated in his previous text that he wouldn’t be gone long, and of course, he’d unknowingly ‘lied’ to Nines. Gavin flinched and shrank at his own thoughts, and while he knew he ‘technically’ hadn’t lied to Nines, he hadn’t been exactly upfront and open about constantly keeping him updated.

…..

But did Nines even want that?!?! What the hell were they?!? A married couple?!?!

Shaking his odd thoughts aside for a moment, Gavin nearly laughed at himself for leaping to such odd conclusions. Marriage?! Yes, this was all a game, and he had to remain level-headed before he got lost in his fantasies. After all, he knew he’d stated to Marsha that he thought he loved Nines, but of course, the operative word here was _thought_. Gavin figured that until he found out and deciphered just exactly what he was feeling for Nines, he wasn’t going to say a word to the android. Saying too much too soon was going to only end up destroying everything…as it always did.

Emotions always screwed things up.

The moment Gavin entered the hallway leading up to Nines’ front door, he was shocked to hear loud music coming directly from Nines’ apartment. It was unmistakable and quite obvious that Nines was playing it. This wasn’t his imagination, and as shocking and riveting as the scenario he’d been faced with was, he needed to see it all before his own two eyes. Perhaps he was more exhausted than he initially suspected, and perhaps he was wrong about whatever it was he was currently hearing…

His feet approached Nines’ apartment and stopped right before the tightly shut door. Pausing, Gavin bent forward, and he pressed his right ear against the cold, dark door. It took not even a few seconds until Gavin felt the music slamming into his eardrums.

_We walk the streets in tattered armies,_

_We got the lion in our heart…_

As obtuse as Gavin originally assumed he was being, now, as the lyrics of the song slammed into his head, he smiled as he recognized the tune.

_We’re not lookin’ for trouble, just for some fun,_

_But we’re all ready if you want to start!_

Raising his fist up to the door, Gavin delivered three solid knocks on it to let Nines know he’d arrived. At first, he wasn’t sure whether he’d made enough noise in his announcement, but then the music turned down just a tad, and footsteps padded towards him just beyond the hall. A click let him know that the door was now unlocked, and when Gavin pushed on the center of the door after prying the handle down, it slowly creaked open.

The music could be heard clearly, now, and Gavin smiled, expecting to see Nines standing before himself, but he instead saw the android’s shadow retreating back down the hallway.

……

Great.

He put two and two together; Nines was definitely pissed.

Sighing softly, Gavin entered the apartment, took off his shoes, and hung his coat up in the closet. He then made his way into the living room, but Nines wasn’t there. Time to try the bedroom…stepping inside it, he saw that his second guess had been correct; Nines was sitting at his desk, and as Gavin watched, he held a cloth in his right hand, steadied one of his black leather boots in another, and began polishing and waxing them.

The sight of it was rather unbecoming, but Gavin wasn’t in the mood for laughing; not when he saw how Nines’ LED light blinked red constantly, even though his angular fringe and bangs were styled today to cover and hang over the right side of his forehead.

No words had been said between them for a while, and so the music supplied a form of ‘conversation’ between them.

_So, just remember the,_

_The kids are back,_

_The kids are back!_

_Oh, watch out,_

_The kids are back!_

Trying to be smooth and slick in the ways of ‘breaking the ice’, Gavin stared down at the floor as he confidently spoke out, “Twisted Sister! Pretty cool, Nines!” Taking a small breath, he ecstatically elucidated, “I used to listen to Twisted Sister too, of course, when I was young. They were kinda an older band, but I think it’s neat that you’re into them!” He truly meant it, too; he often enjoyed older rock and metal music, but he’d never before shared this information with anyone.

As Nines scrubbed and polished furiously at the side of the boot he’d been currently holding onto tightly, his lips curled back as he ground out, “You’re late, as usual.”

Gavin should’ve known he wouldn’t be able to escape his wrongdoings for long. Shoving his hands into his pockets, he sighed, “Yeah…I’m sorry about that.”

“You said you were just going to the mall,” Nines mordantly bit out, “so you’re trying to have me believe that you stayed in the mall for nearly six whole hours by yourself, then?”

Although he’d made it seem so noxious, Gavin preferred being upfront and honest. He’d get nothing out of employing mendacious tactics, so he didn’t even bother thinking about them. Moving his shoulders back, he grunted, “I wasn’t alone the entire time.”

A minatory glare was his response out of Nines while the android’s hands slowed down. “Who were you with?”

_Well, can you blame us for living our dreams?_

_Just look around and you’ll see why…_

He figured he had the option of being loquacious for the sake of expounding on the truth, but Gavin suspected it would only backfire on himself. Nines wasn’t in a good mood already, and there was no way on Earth he was going to risk fucking around with that. In cases such as this, providing a limpid reply and being succinct was his ticket out of the mess he’d walked into.

“I ran into Marsha.”

Nines stopped waxing his boot. He set it down over a newspaper covering the surface of the desk, and he turned completely in his chair to face Gavin.

_We don’t want to follow that same routine,_

_Maybe it’s for nothin’, but we gotta try!_

As much as Gavin found he was enjoying the music, it was now rather distracting. Though usually quite opinionated, he sealed his mouth shut about it for now and held back on his opinions, just in case that was what set Nines off.

Still scowling angrily at him, the android stood to his feet, the thick buckles and chains woven around his belt and pant leggings making rather loud noises that troubled Gavin. It all sounded like a steady thrum of a death knell to him.

Drawing his eyebrows up, Nines growled, “So how did you run into Marsha?”

Rolling his eyes when he knew he couldn’t avoid going over the onerous details of his experience, Gavin again relied on getting to the point. “I just ran into her in Walmart, Nines. No big deal.”

_So, just remember the,_

_The kids are back,_

_The kids are back!_

_Oh, watch out,_

_The kids are back!_

Trying to ignore the magnificent guitar solo that was now playing across the room boisterously, Gavin shifted back when Nines took measured steps forward. As much as Nines likely wasn’t trying to give off intimidating, creepy vibes, he was somehow failing miserably at remaining calm and collected; Gavin was slightly intimidated and freaked out by having to face Nines’ bright red LED light and hulking form as he drew himself closer and closer.

Smiling-though it wasn’t for the purposes of being friendly and enjoying himself-Nines hissed, “And let me guess, you chatted her right up, had lunch with her, and lost track of time, then?” Shaking his head, he purred out, “Careless of you there, Reed.”

Frowning, Gavin snapped, “I don’t see what the big deal is, man.”

“You don’t?”

“No.”

_Now there’s no problem, no need to fuss,_

_We ain’t out to stop your fun…_

_Don’t mind us askin’, ‘cause we gotta know,_

_How can we stop it when you’re havin’ none? _

Suddenly roaring in sheer anger, Nines screamed, “MUSIC, OFF!!!”

Abruptly, Dee Snider’s voice cut off, and dead silence permeated through the air of the apartment. Gavin shivered, despite the heating system being on full blast, but it was more so because of the acrid manner in which Nines was glaring at him. It wasn’t a pleasant thing to feel and witness, and Gavin eventually found the strength to turn his back to Nines.

Holding out his phone from his back pocket, he sighed, “I need to charge this.” As he walked over towards his dresser and pulled out the charger, he then tried locating an outlet for it…outside Nines’ bedroom. He wanted and needed to create as much space and distance between himself and Nines as possible. Still, that didn’t stop Nines from following closely in Gavin’s trail, and he hung behind him until Gavin plugged his phone into a wall near the kitchen.

Now that he had no other excuse, Gavin winced when he turned around and caught the look of raw anger etched onto Nines’ face. Nines looked livid, and it didn’t seem like he was going to calm down anytime soon. Gavin wanted to try and remain logical and calm, however.

Taking up an open stance and a relaxed body posture, he let his arms hang down at his sides as opposed to crossing them over his chest and remaining ‘closed off’ to Nines. Relaxing his facial expressions, he calmly assured, “Nines, it’s not what you think; Marsha and I just talked, and I think we’re on friendly terms again.”

Immediately, Nines barked out madly, “That’s how it _always_ starts, Reed!!” Flinging a hand up, and then slamming it down through the air, he spat, “First you become friends with the ex, schmoozing it up through texts here and there, visitation on and off, and then the next thing you know, you’re in bed with them!!”

As his voice boomed and echoed throughout the apartment, Gavin gaped at him among all his visceral implications. Choking on his breath, he rasped, “A-are you j-jealous, Nines?!?” He truly was baffled to even consider that possibility, and he hoped greatly that Nines would step up and correct him.

Not even wasting a second, Nines glared resolutely at him. “So what if I am, Reed?”

A dry, strained laugh escaped from Gavin’s mouth before he could contain it. Pointing at Nines, he laughed louder as he sang out, “Th-that’s funny, Nines!! Ha! So you’re s-saying that you have feelings for me?!?” Blowing a raspberry, he snorted, “Suuuuuure, like I’m expected to believe that and take it so seriously when you’ve—” Breath hitching in his throat, Gavin ceased laughing and mocking Nines when he was met with one of the most serious expressions he’d seen yet on the android’s face. For a moment, it looked as though Nines were fending off expressions of pain before they presented themselves on his face. Once he’d gained enough levity and control, he glowered down at Gavin, face firm and rigid.

……

Why hadn’t Nines struggled or fought back to deny it?? Why???

As Gavin continued to gape at Nines, the tense moment had been crudely interrupted by Gavin’s phone ringing on the table in the kitchen. Staring at it while he felt Nines’ heated eyes on himself, Gavin took a quick peek at the caller I.D.

It was his mother…

“It’s my—”

“Don’t keep her waiting,” Nines growled, stepping back as he ran a hand through his messy, black hair. “I’ll leave.”

“Just—”

“Answer it.”

At the demand, Gavin swallowed thickly, and he made his way towards his phone. It had at least 10% battery, and it was good enough for a quick call. Standing by the table, Gavin unplugged it, and he answered it in a fearful tone.

“Mom?”

A wheezing sound could’ve been heard before Carrie Moser coughed a few times, and then greeted him. “Gavin, god, my fucking throat…” She sounded terrible, and Gavin cringed as he heard her coughing violently for a moment. Powerless to do or say anything, he stared at Nines, and the dour android tilted his head at him.

Licking his dry, cracked lips, Gavin softly asked her, “Are you alright, mom?”

“Juuuust fuckin’ peachy, Gavin,” she hissed, voice beyond shrill, “start up a video call.”

Without even giving it much of a thought, Gavin did just that. Right after hitting the appropriate button to initiate a video chat, his screen portrayed his mother, and she was lying down in her bed beneath thick, blue sheets. Smiling weakly at him, she remained silent, a book resting on her lap, an old Great Dane lying next to her on the bed, and her night lamp was on shining brightly.

Staring at the large, grey hound, Gavin inquired curiously, “When’d you get the pooch, mom?”

She pet the dog’s head and sighed, “A few days ago; he’s settling in nicely.”

“Yeah…”

Staring up at him, Carrie frowned, and then greeted coldly, in spite of trying to be friendly. “Hello, Nines.”

Nearly leaping up in fright, Gavin felt a puff of warm air against his cheek, and then saw Nines’ shadow looming over his own. Nines was standing behind him, and he gazed at the screen of the phone before nodding by way of a greeting at Carrie.

“Evening.”

Almost venomously, she snapped, “How’ve ya been?” It was clear to everyone that she didn’t want to appear like the removed person she really was around Nines, so she made mawkish expressions of empathy.

“Hmm, fine,” Nines coldly bit back, “your son is here, so I’m fine.”

Blushing, Gavin moved forward, trying to make it so that Nines wasn’t pressed up so closely against his back, for one, and he also didn’t need the android making weird comments about him to his own mother.

Grunting, Carrie placed her hands over her book as she asked them, “Any plans for Christmas?”

Gavin was stumped, and he shrugged as he answered, “Nah, why?”

Cocking her head curiously at him for a moment, Carrie then massaged her neck slowly with both hands, groaning as she stated plainly, “I think you two should do something aside from Netflix and Chill.”

While she spoke on, the longer Gavin stared at her, the more he found that something was off…Carrie was looking rather skeletal, for one; her eyes were sunken in, her cheekbones were jutting out sharply, and her nose seemed so hooked and long in comparison to her almost hollow-like face…

“Mom?” Gavin interrupted her quickly, “have you lost weight?”

Glaring at him, Carrie waved a hand in the air, and her dog’s ears rose. “Don’t be stupid, Gavin,” she coughed roughly, and then leaned back into her pillows, “I’m just the same as always.”

Neither Gavin nor Nines agreed, though the android sat down and chose not to interfere more in the fractious woman’s business than he already had.

Scratching his head, Gavin moved on to another topic. “So, what’s going on with you, mom?”

“It’s almost Christmastime, dipshit!” she spat vitriolically, “that means I have to grade papers and reports, so I’m not having a fun fuckin’ time here!!”

Snickering, Gavin muttered, “Plus, it’s cold as fuck.”

“Exactly,” Carrie settled back and pushed her book off her lap. She closed it, and then placed it on her night table before staring intently at Gavin. Eyes twinkling, she smirked as she suggested, “Hey…why don’t you take Nines up north to our fancy cottage?? It’ll be a good getaway, and besides, someone needs to maintain the family investments!!”

Staring at Nines in shock as much as Nines was gaping at him in that tendentious manner of his, Gavin cried, “The cottage??”

Nodding, Carrie replied swiftly, “It’ll be good for privacy, a place to clear your minds; no stress, no mess.”

It didn’t sound too bad, and Gavin wondered how it came to be that he hadn’t thought of that before. It was their own personal family cottage, but when his father had left, he gave it to Carrie to own. Throughout the years, Gavin and Carrie maintained it well and looked after it, every Christmas heading to it with relatives for family gatherings. Due to its secluded area, sometimes it was just so Gavin could catch a break from school, and Carrie could rest from her University classes and such.

“I like the sound of that, mom,” Gavin nodded slowly, smile growing as his mother’s did as well. He confirmed his final decision with one last firm nod. “I think we’ll head there tomorrow.”

“You should leave early morning,” Carrie stated, “it’ll start snowing by three, so get on the road safely bright and early.”

Appreciating her genuine concern, Gavin could only smile endearingly as he said, “Thank you, mom.”

Her wise eyes gleamed at him, causing her to appear a tad younger and livelier.

“You’re welcome, Gavin.”

Before he could hang up, however, she quickly barked out, “Talk to you later, Nines!!”

From his spot on the sofa, Nines waved in a slightly fulsome manner as he cried, “You too, Dr. Moser.”

When they’d said their ‘goodbyes’, Gavin hung up, already feeling less stressed out and less angry. Smiling at Nines, he stood about awkwardly while the android carefully regarded him in unmitigated silence.

Stretching his arms out when it was too quiet, Nines sighed, “Well? Would you like some help packing, then?”

All too quickly and all too eagerly, Gavin whispered, “Yes.”

_Anything to spend more time with you, and anything to be around you, Nines._

~0~0~0~0~0

The cottage was absolutely enormous, and quite the serene, somnolent sight in the winter. It almost looked like a house; two floors and a large wine cellar in the lower level easily viewed through the large, luminous windows that acted more like walls than windows given how long and large they were.

Beautiful, exotic Christmas decorations and lights littered the front of the cottage and decorated the sides. The cottage had four bedrooms; two regular ones and two guest ones, all decorated generously. The beds had expensive white, red, and cream-colored sheets spread on the surfaces of the beds, with flowerpots hanging in the corners of the rooms. A sixty-inch widescreen TV in every bedroom at the front mounted high on the wall.

On the main floor past the hallway was the kitchen, with a large window facing the magnificent woods off in the distance used for many years of great tourist activities as well as winter sports. A small breakfast nook sat to the left of the black gas-lit stove and matching black fridge.

When they were through with unloading the car with their personal items, Gavin sat perched upon the white and light green striped cushions of the breakfast nook, looking fondly right out the window.

Standing next to him, Nines huffed, “What’re you looking for?”

A small birdhouse hung in the center of the backyard by a large black lamp, which was off for the time being, but that wasn’t what Gavin happened to be staring at.

Motioning out across the snowy lands, Gavin pointed out a small villa. “There’s an ice-rink open from mid-day to late evening, Nines.”

Picturing it as he zoomed in across the many yards of snow-covered hills and trees, Nines was able to see it. It was seasonally appropriate with a large pine tree decorated in red, green, and silver lights standing in the middle of the rink, and the gate surrounding the accurately depicted outdoor rink was festooned with blinking fairy lights of varying colors.

Purring deeply at him, Nines asked, “Do you want to check it out?”

Gavin shook his head and wrapped his arms around himself. “Nah. To be fair, we got here kinda late, and I’m tired.”

Noting that there was actually a building one had to pass through to reach the rink, Nines’ accurate vision discovered that the skating rink’s outer perimeter was filled with a skate rental counter, concession stand, tables, and lockers to stow one’s things. More tables decorated the outside of the building, and benches lined the front portion of the rink. It looked lovely, but perhaps they could save that for another day.

Gavin stood, pacing away from the window towards the large staircase past the hall leading upstairs.

Nines looked up to see curtains pulled aside and away from one of the main large windows in the front of the cottage on the second floor. It was just Gavin letting some of the bright Christmas lights permeating from outside in through the windows. Deciding not to follow the detective, Nines headed down the hall of the first floor of the cottage. He faced a short hallway with two doors leading off on either side of the hall. The first room on his right opened up to reveal a large sitting room with a U-shaped couch facing a large fireplace set against a light paneled wall. Behind the couch, a wrought iron stairway led up to what Nines assumed were the other two bedrooms and a private bathroom.

It all connected back to the small breakfast nook with a table for four and short counter complete with small stove and fridge. Across from the kitchen happened to be a cozy living room of sorts. It held the usual decorations; sofas, a fireplace, a rocking chair, shelves. And in the far corner of the entire wood-floored living space was a door half-open. Weaving his way inside it, Nines found it to be a bathroom containing one large indoor hot tub…

Nines made his way out of the room and back to the main part of the cottage. A fire was already blazing in the large fireplace, and Nines noticed the festive, thick stockings placed on the end tables near the couch. There was another, larger Christmas plant on the breakfast table and a large Christmas wreath over the fireplace. It seemed that the Reeds hadn’t taken down their Christmas decorations in a long, long time, as a lot of these items had dust all over them. On the other side of the kitchen, Nines noticed a door in the light-colored wall and pushed it open to reveal the basement entrance. This explained how to get into the wine cellar, too, Nines supposed.

Once he’d had his fill of his own personal ‘tour’, Nines followed Gavin upstairs. The android stepped in a vacant bedroom he’d already claimed as his own to take in the sight of an adjacent bathroom. It was huge and rather lovely. A double sink, plain white toilet, and one large walk-in shower with slate grey tiles enclosed in smoky glass walls that would do very little to keep anyone’s modesty were revealed when he turned on the lights. A metal rack containing fluffy white towels sat over the toilet, inconveniently out of reach of the shower door.

Eyeing the two large mirrors above the sinks uncomfortably, Nines turned off the lights and backed out of the bathroom when he heard Gavin calling for him.

“Nines!!! I’m hungry!!!”

Sighing, the android pushed his hair out of his eyes, and he called back, “What do you want to eat?”

~0~0~0~0~0

Thankfully, since Gavin had recently purchased fresh produce, the human male decided to make some stir-fry. It was easy, quick to prepare, and healthy. Yet Gavin had still beckoned Nines into the warm, bright kitchen to have some help with preparing the food. Although Nines willingly obeyed, Gavin felt a little queasy having the android standing so close to him as they washed the vegetables and placed them in separate bowls and containers.

The troubled detective felt he wanted to be anywhere except in the kitchen behind the Calacatta Gold Marble Slab countertop, where he was standing and supposed to be cutting mushrooms, tomatoes, bell peppers, and onions over a wooden chopping board. Nines also held a sharp knife just like the one Gavin himself gripped, and as he’d given Nines his fair portion of garlic and onions to chop, Gavin slowly worked on his vegetables.

They chopped and cut quietly for some time, when Gavin peeked over and just looked at Nines as he worked. The tall android was just…perfect. They’d really made him perfect. Damning CyberLife for getting every last detail down to perfection, Gavin had been lost counting Nines’ tiny freckles for a while, when the android stared at him. The luster of the beyond perfect RK900’s blue eyes were riveting in ways Gavin couldn’t begin to describe.

Nervously looking away before he was caught, Gavin cleared his throat, and he tried fixing his eyes on his vegetables. Of course, this lasted barely ten seconds. His burning curiosity surged forth again, and in no time at all, he found himself dazed in awe as he stared at Nines’ black hair, LED light spinning blue, and his matching blue eyes. The lashes there weren’t too long or thick; they were perfect.

Nines’ lips moved, and Gavin heard the sounds of faint chatting grazing the shell of his ears. He knew that the android had spoken to him, but he was far too mesmerized to even respond clearly and on time. All he could do was gape, and his jaw slowly came fallen and open when he looked at the way in which Nines’ long fingers moved the chopped bits of green pepper into the large frying pan resting in the center of the cold counter.

Unable to withstand being so close to Nines without resorting to touching him, Gavin swallowed, blinked, and tried to look away, but it was no good. He was stuck, and as he kept his eyes trained on Nines, he missed how the android resorted to poking him with his elbow.

“Reed,” Nines snapped, “did you hear a word I said?” When Nines jabbed at him again with his elbow, it made the other man inch away to the side as he picked a freshly rinsed over red pepper from the basket, then placed it to the side of the chopping board.

Shrugging when he felt he could speak, Gavin answered, “You’re boring me, Nines.” He was lying, but he wanted to cover for himself. “All you do is yap, blah, blah, blah. Whatever. Not like I’ve never cooked before, man.”

Nines huffed at him, but remained silent as he started on slicing the mushrooms quickly. As his knife slammed and smacked against the cutting board, Gavin couldn’t help but gaze over. Nines was working with delicate, precise speed, and the mushrooms he’d chopped were practically identical in size, width, and length. How could such perfection exist within something man-made?! Nines worked without even pausing once; elegantly, his left hand pushed more mushrooms forward, while his right hand kept bringing the knife down over the mushroom piles.

Slice, slice, slice, slice…

As Gavin listened to the gentle patter and the rhythm of the knife smacking the board, he closed his eyes and smiled lightly to himself. Yes…Nines even smelled good! He smelled like mint, old pine, and something else…something soapy…whatever it was, Gavin loved it, and he focused his ears even more on listening to how the blade of the knife made contact with the cutting board. Such a lull…so calming…tranquil…he could sleep…

Suddenly, it stopped.

“Reed?”

“Hmm?”

…..

Nines sighed definitively, “That’s it.” Setting his knife down gently, Nines wiped his wet hands on a paper towel nearby, and then he turned towards Gavin.

Opening his eyes, Gavin saw Nines before himself looming, but his slow, lust-hazed reflexes hadn’t worked properly on time.

“What’re you—”

Cold hands gripped his cheeks roughly. Nines shut him up in the most expedient way possible; crossing the scant distance between them, and launching himself into the short detective as he covered his mouth with his own. Nines’ mouth was warm and pliant against his, unhesitatingly inviting himself inside the snug haven. Almost at the exact moment Gavin groaned in sheer rapture, Nines buried himself closer, needing, seeking the warmth that the human male seemed to radiate. Desperately, Gavin began pulling Nines into a grinding kiss as though branding him with his lips. Nines had gotten better at kissing, Gavin mused. The skilled mouth worked over his own, and Nines took turns dipping and swirling his tongue around Gavin’s, and then pulled back and nibbled on his lower lip before tugging it gently between his teeth. Gavin shivered, drinking in the hungry mouth pressing firmly against his own. As he was thoroughly kissed, Gavin again lost himself in his feelings, and he missed the sensation of Nines unbuttoning his shirt. When the android’s lips finally moved away from his hot mouth and had found his nipple, Gavin snapped out of it.

With a roar, he heaved Nines off himself, pushed down his shirt, and tried swinging wildly at Nines. The android cleverly ducked, however, and Gavin’s fist swished through the air above his head.

“NINES! YOU FUCKING—”

Mordantly, the android hissed with eyes set in slits, “Finally got you to snap out of it, Reed. The hell’s the matter with you?”

Jaw quivering, Gavin slowly buttoned up his shirt again as he avoided staring at Nines. At the height of his rage, the RK900 looked devastatingly sexy yet scary at the same time. It was all a bit overwhelming, and the sooner he created a schism between his eyes and Nines’ appealing body, the better…at least for his dick, anyway.

“I…I was just thinking, Nines!” Missing a few buttons, he roared while he rubbed his sensitive nipple. “Can’t a guy think to himself in peace?!”

“Listen here, you arrogant prick,” Nines coldly growled at him, pressing his forehead against Gavin’s. As he did, his bangs scratched and tickled Gavin’s skin, but he found he couldn’t get away as he closed his eyes and just leaned into the strong, tall pillar of control and raw dominance Nines was. Seething with rage so hot it could’ve been felt, Nines continued. “Get whatever the fuck is bothering you out of your system once and for all, else this’ll be more painful than it needs to be for the both of us.”

Trembling, Gavin timorously whispered out, “Nines, I—”

“Silence, Reed,” came the rude interruption, “I’m talking, now, and that means you’re doing nothing other than listening in sheer _silence. _Am I clearly understood?”

With a groan, Gavin tried backing up, but his lower back slammed into the counter. He was reminded again of what he had to do, and his stomach growled, demanding food. Yes, that was the priority, it seemed…but Nines was so warm, so close…

Still inching closer and closer, Nines practically bumped noses and toes with Gavin, until the detective froze up. He felt a thigh-firm and strong-right between his parted legs. When Nines shifted himself up, Gavin caved into him almost unknowingly and involuntarily. He was gently and carefully grinding himself over Nines’ hard length of thigh, but the android seemed far too intent on ranting at him to notice.

Sneering, Nines whispered into his ear, “I know that this is the worst-case scenario for you; to have to spend Christmas here with me. But guess what?” Chuckling despite not finding it amusing at all, Nines continued softly, “I’m not so fucking eager to be here with you either, Reed. In fact, I’d rather be in my own apartment locked in a room. See, I’m a simple guy…”

Gavin wasn’t listening, yet he was. He just needed for Nines to keep talking more and more…once or twice, his hips snapped forward, but far too subtly for Nines to take notice of it.

“The torture you’re feeling here isn’t even close to an _iota_ of what the hell I’m feeling, Reed. You may think I’m disgusting, perverted, and a damn menace, but I assure you, I’m fully certain about your strong heterosexual preferences, because I won’t give you the necessary elements to inaugurate such an insensitive fraudulence when it comes to my—”

Gavin’s fingers wrapped around Nines’ shoulders, effectively silencing the android’s vicious rants. As Nines’ eyes widened when he leaned back and stared at Gavin, he whispered out, “Gavin? What’re you—”

“FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK!!!!!!” Without so much of a warning, Gavin’s cock twitched, and he came all over himself deeply within his jeans and underwear. He hadn’t ceased pressing his hips and crotch into Nines’ leg, and now, the android saw it plainly.

Peering down between their bodies, Nines remained silent up until Gavin finished with his unexpected, horrific orgasm. It’d sparked out of nowhere, and he had no idea he’d even been aroused to begin with. This was beyond mortifying, and he didn’t know what to do as he weakly crashed face-first into Nines’ firm chest.

However, he did feel warmth and genuine comfort when both of Nines’ long arms came up to rest around his back in a small embrace.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And it....  
I feel like this chapter should've been divided in 2 because so much went on in it. Oh well.


	52. Silent Pleasantries

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Links to pics of the shit Nines is wearing this chapter:  
https://www.punkravestore.com/products/fashion-new-design-sexy-denim-harem-jean-punk-pants  
https://www.punkravestore.com/products/men-punk-split-hooded-jacket-asymmetrical-long-trench-coat

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gavin and Nines get super close...

“Collect yourself, Reed.”

Shifting back, Gavin felt Nines’ arms sliding off his back slowly. Wincing at how cold and wet he was between his legs, his weak knees caved in, and like jelly, he nearly fell into Nines again. Stumbling a few times while Nines held him up, Gavin murmured, “Sorry.” He hated that like a teenager, he’d spilled all over himself, and he hated more that Nines knew exactly what had happened; that he’d been here for all of it.

Struggling for his balance and control over himself, Gavin held himself up by bracing a hand against the counter. He wanted to get back to cooking and to pretend that this never happened, but his body wouldn’t allow for that, and he just knew that this wasn’t a case to be easily forgotten. He’d literally had a mind-blowing, titillating orgasm while clutching onto Nines’ arms, and there was no way to make up an excuse explaining it away or denying otherwise.

Eyes darting around nervously, Gavin weakly half-whispered, half-cried out, “I d-don’t know what came o-over me…” This wouldn’t suffice for whatever form of a bullshit apology he supposed he owed Nines after what had happened, but then again, it wasn’t every day in Gavin Reed’s life that he was coming hard while clinging onto his secret man-crush.

Yes, this was way out of line, all things considered.

Eyes turning slightly dark, perhaps with a hint of mild lust brewing within the cobalt depths, Nines offered slyly, “It’s not the first time I’ve talked you into an orgasm. Why surprised?”

“Shh!” Gavin hissed bitterly, nearly crashing like an infant against the pillar of strength Nines was. The android reeked of nothing other than masculinity, dominance, aggression, and sex. No wonder Gavin had basically swooned into his arms…again.

Watching him carefully lest he fall, Nines muttered dully, “It’s not your fault, Reed; you can’t control your body’s reactions all the time.”

Shielding his lower half with his hands, Gavin whimpered before searching for his knife. “I th-think we should—”

Nines reached for the knife as well, and he gently pried it out of Gavin’s hand and set it down. Staring intently at the emotionally distraught male, Nines knew Gavin was trying to avoid him, so he didn’t work hard to make eye contact. “Go take a shower and unwind from this, Reed,” the android suggested with a small sigh. “I’ll continue making dinner here, and you can take a break.”

Resisting the urge to nod away in his agreement, the stubborn side of Gavin desired to throw out a barbed insult. However, when he leaned into the android, cold air around the kitchen blew into his chest, and Gavin’s sensitive nipple tingled and burned.

With a hiss, he drew himself back while cradling and massaging the area Nines had sucked on previously.

Due to the noises he made, Nines looked up and frowned. “What’s your issue, now?”

Sputtering, Gavin garbled out messily, “The fuck did you do to my nipple, man?!” Rubbing it in small circles, he added while hissing, “It feels weird!!”

Rolling his eyes skyward, Nines exhaled painfully, “I did the same thing to your nipple that I did to your dick. You weren’t complaining back then, so shut up and hop in the shower already.”

Unable to believe it, Gavin stood gaping wordlessly at Nines for a while until the android clearly had enough of it. Gently nudging Gavin out of the kitchen, Nines waited until he heard the other male heading on upstairs before he continued preparing the meal.

Now all alone upstairs, Gavin picked the guest bedroom he was going to be staying in and using to shower. All the bedrooms had their own private bathrooms, thankfully, and in no time at all, he’d made himself as comfortable as he could in one that was quite far away from Nines’ room. The room was clear and in top shape, and Gavin found himself making a beeline for the bathroom without even thinking about it. He was far too eager to feel warm water dripping and sliding all along his sore-vexed body.

As the seductive notion promised, in reality, the shower was miraculous. The warm water soothed his body, his mind, and his heart. Physically, he felt comfortable, safe, and no longer vexed. He supposed a part of it had to do with being away from Nines for a moment and out of his wet, cold, stained underwear and pants.

Remembering it all now, Gavin sighed as he resisted the urge to kick at the stone shower walls. What age was he? Twelve?!?! He should’ve controlled himself more!! He hadn’t even had stuff like this happen when he was going through puberty, so why was it happening, now!??! He searched his thoughts wildly, and he surmised that a lot of it just had to do with Nines. Though, Nines wasn’t necessarily the problem to him…perhaps he was—

“Reed!! Your supper’s ready!!”

Already?!?! Just how long had he been in the shower for?!?!

Nearly choking on shower water as he stood directly facing the spray of it, Gavin coughed to the point where it hurt. Eventually, he was able to cry out to Nines, “Coming!!!!”

…..

Poor choice of words, and Gavin ended up regretting them immediately.

Nines even knew it, and he jokingly called out, “You already did that, Reed.”

This time, Gavin did kick the shower wall in a move of pure umbrage, but strangely, he started laughing at what Nines had exclaimed as he rinsed his soap-covered body off and hurried to join Nines downstairs. It didn’t feel so bad to be a little immature every now and then, he supposed.

~0~0~0~0~0

Nines was a wonderful chef, Gavin learned. He’d enjoyed the meal and scarfed it down so quickly, that in a blink of an eye, he found he was beyond bored. Of course, the food had been exquisite, but Gavin had other ‘appetites’ to satiate. As much as he loved being kept within the cozy atmosphere of the cottage, he longed to do something else…something fun!!! As always, trips taken to the family cottage forcefully dragged out his youthful, playful nature, and he had to give in to its beck and call.

Staring outside the patio doors leading to the backyard, Gavin eyed the snowbanks just sitting and inviting him to come out and lose himself to the vast powdery, wet substance. He’d done his fair share of winter activities as a youth and teenager, and somewhere along the way, he remembered having fun. When had it all stopped?!?

Perhaps he needed to reinvent his own version of ‘fun’…

A tap on his shoulder pulled him out of his daydreaming. Eyes flickering up into Nines’, Gavin choked on his gasp when the android held out a warm cup of tea for him.

Eyebrows quirked, Nines goaded, “For you, Reed; it’s Oolong.”

Gavin sighed as he held out both hands. Once the cup slid between both open palms, he wrapped his hands around it, momentarily shivering in delight as the warmth seeped into his skin. Even though he was wearing a long, thick black and blue sweater, he was still a bit cold from his shower. He hadn’t fully toweled and dried off his hair due to racing down so he could still eat his meal while it was hot, and he’d paid a bit of a price for such a careless act.

As he nestled onto the breakfast nook by the window, Nines sat down in the kitchen chair facing him. Gavin suspected that the inquisitive RK900 was staring at him, and when he glanced over, he was able to confirm it.

Not looking at him in an overly unpleasant manner, Nines tapped a finger on the table as he deeply spoke out, “Is the tea good?”

Watching as his own breath steamed and fogged up the icy window, Gavin shrugged. “I’m not really a tea guy, but I guess it’s…” Pausing, he then hurriedly finished in a peculiar manner, “I don’t know what it’s supposed to do, honestly.”

Smirking, Nines stated empirically, “Reed, tea doesn’t really ‘do’ anything. It’s just to keep you warm and hydrated.”

“And can serve as an anti-oxidant?”

Nines almost winked at him, then, but it seemed as though he’d tried stopping himself midway. Ceasing his performance and completion of the act, Nines now looked to be blinking rapidly, as though trying to get something out of his eye or eyelashes. He paused, then held up a hand to shield his eye, muttering something as his LED light flashed yellow.

Gavin only snorted, “Whatever the hell’s goin’ on there, be grateful it’s nowhere near creaming your jeans in the middle of a kitchen during what should be dinner prep.” Sipping his tea after his embarrassing conclusion, he watched as Nines ceased blinking and just stared ahead out the window.

When it’d grown to be far too silent, Gavin set down his mug as he randomly announced, “I wanna go outside.” Standing up abruptly, he visually assessed how cold it may have been outside in the dark night, and as he paced closer towards the patio doors, he turned on the backyard lights. Immediately, the yard was as bright as day, practically, and Gavin felt much warmer and ebullient just staring at it all.

Spinning around to smile at Nines, he encouraged vibrantly, “Come on! It’s better than sittin’ in here all night long.”

Without much of a fuss, Nines got ready. He’d donned a black, punk split hooded jacket with an asymmetrical long trench coat. It had a polyester lining, and the rest of it was made of cotton as it hung down to his kneecaps. On his lower body, he wore denim harem jean punk pants, and long, black boots lined up with buckles starting from the calves right up towards the middle of the boots.

Gavin simply threw on top of his sweater a thick, grey winter coat, grey gloves, and a black tuque. Once his dark brown mountain boots were snugly on his feet, he gestured at the door when he’d slid it open. “Hurry, Nines!!”

“I don’t see what the rush is, Reed,” Nines grumbled moodily behind him, “we’re only heading to the backyard; not a party.”

That may have been true, but Gavin only gleefully barked out, “Hurry! I wanna make goofy snowmen!!”

And thus, he did.

Gavin began the task first, while Nines stood by and watched as his partner first rolled up a snowball from a particularly thick pile near the right wall of the cottage. Gavin then lifted one large ball of snow onto another, his wild hair sticking out from under the knitted tuque, cheeks red from the cold and exertion. Once or twice, he paused when he noticed that Nines wasn’t helping.

Shifting to the side once he’d rolled his large ‘body’ and ‘base’ towards the center of the yard, he cried out to Nines, “See if you can find a carrot or some coal!!”

Rolling his eyes, Nines slowly went back inside the cottage, and minutes later, he’d retrieved the items. “You’re a pain in the ass sometimes, Reed,” he spat, though it wasn’t presented entirely too rudely or sardonically.

Snickering, Gavin grabbed the cold carrot, and then eyed the two black stones Nines had more than likely grabbed from the hot tub. “Nice,” he nodded in approval, reserving those for when they made the snowman’s head. As Gavin set to work on doing that, Nines muttered something about children and playing in the snow.

Gavin however only laughed at whatever Nines was saying, and lifted his gloved hand to push his snowman’s head up onto its body. Before he could place it down, however, Nines got in the way.

“What the—”

“Your snowman’s as short as you are, jackass,” Nines joked, and as Gavin watched in awe, Nines already had created another medium-sized ball serving as the middle body piece. The tall android lifted a third ball of snow atop the previous two, and he bowed once it was ready for Gavin to put the head on top. “See?” he laughed while petting the gigantic snowman’s chest, “it takes on after me, now.”

Gavin only flipped him off, and then the two men began decorating the snowman. When they were through with this snowman, Gavin turned, and his grey-blue eyes locked on Nines’. “I wanna make one that looks like me!”

“Go for it, Reed,” Nines sighed as he shoved in the nose and began readjusting the eyes, so they sat perfectly and almost human-like.

“Here!!” Once he’d gathered the base, Gavin practically bounced over to Nines. “We’re making my snow clone, now!!”

Volunteering his aid, Nines said with a raised brow, “I’ll get the body done.”

While Gavin had been distracted with thinking about how to structure the face and possibly use his own hat for the top of the snowman’s head, Nines built the snowman so it had clumped piles of snow down its neck, possibly to represent the beard Gavin once sported last year.

Catching it, Gavin laughed as he pointed, “I don’t have a beard anymore, dude.”

Beaming at him, Nines proclaimed, “If I could grow hair, I’d love to have a goatee or something.”

“I think the snowman looks good,” Gavin assented proudly, pointing to the ‘Gavin’ snowman that had spiked “hair,” for some reason as Nines gathered it neatly right on top of its head and dipped his fingers between each ‘strand’. The clever android broke off from a tree in the backyard two twigs to act as arms, and he added black green rocks into its head serving as eyes.

Through with his handiwork, Nines stated, “And you’re here beside me.”

Gavin took in the snowman beside Nines’ and noticed his was the only one with the traditional coal eyes. Still, he liked them both; they were snow representations he was going to forever remember. Hanging onto that idea, he pointed at the cottage as he instructed Nines, “Hey, go get my phone from inside…I wanna take pics of them!!”

Obediently, Nines already was on the way, but then Gavin giggled, his eyes glowing in a sinister way. Truthfully, he did want to take photos, yes, but he had something else on his mind, too.

Waiting for the opportune moment, as Nines headed inside, stood by the breakfast nook for a second, and then slowly began coming back out, he held up Gavin’s phone. Eyes glued to its screen, the poor android hadn’t been looking at his surroundings properly… 

“Got your phone, Reed, now you can—”

SPLAT!!

Immediately, he’d been ambushed by one heck of a nasty snowball whipped at his head. It collided right into Nines’ LED light, and he was thrown off balance. Sputtering, he nearly dropped Gavin’s phone, but straightened himself back up at the last minute to glare at his aggressor.

“Reed!!”

“Hey cutie,” Gavin nodded, grabbing Nines’ hand and pulling him into the snow. It was a quick struggle for dominance and control, but they weren’t exactly ‘fighting’. Gavin took control first, getting on top of Nines while he made sure that their bodies didn’t knock into their snowmen. They managed to steer clear of their work, thankfully, but when Gavin momentarily got distracted enough to look up and check on the snowmen one more time, Nines suddenly overpowered him. He rolled himself on top of Gavin, but before he could do much else, Gavin leaned up and surprised him by planting a chaste kiss on his lips.

Of course, it worked as far as a distraction was concerned. As Nines’ eyes widened and his hands released Gavin’s, the shorter male rolled to his feet and ran back. Now that he was free of Nines’ grip, he grabbed a bundle of snow, and he gently tossed it over Nines’ head. Thankfully, his hood was drawn over to cover his head, but it was still rather amusing and fun to Gavin.

“Gotcha, Nines!!” Giggling, he felt like such a child, but for once, it felt _good_. The laughter was the medicine he’d needed all along, and he lost himself in it while Nines slowly stood up. Unfortunately, as he enjoyed his hearty laughs, Gavin missed how Nines shielded and hid a carefully crafted snowball in his right hand and hid it behind his back.

Eyes gleaming with the same level of impishness that could be heard in Gavin’s laugh, Nines took a step towards Gavin, and then in slow motion, almost, he drew his hand back into the air, and he whipped the snowball directly at Gavin.

Careening towards his head at full force, Gavin saw the snowball heading towards him at full speed. He quickly dove to the side to dodge it. Narrowly missing his face, the snowball splattered on the tree behind him.

Gaping at it, Gavin declared out to Nines, “The hell!!! That was a nasty one you’d aimed for me, Nines!!”

Already taking a protective stance, Nines chuckled as he pointed at Gavin and promised, “I’m gonna kick your five-nine ass!!”

Not caring that Nines had taken a dig at his height, Gavin hurried for cover while Nines dropped low, picking up another handful of bleached, powdery snow from the ground. Swiftly, he crumpled it into a lumpy ball. Again, he raised his right hand over his head, and the snowball came flying forward. Nines’ superhuman speed and strength sent the snowball soaring. In spite of Gavin trying to make his way to hide beneath some snowy bushes, it was a direct hit! The short detective went stumbling back, shaking snow out of his drenched hair as he decided to grab another ball. This time it was his turn, and he aimed the snowball well. He threw it right at Nines, hitting him square in the chest. Among the bright lights, he was able to see the melting snow seeping into Nines’ hood. Glad that wasn’t his case currently, Gavin repressed his laughter at Nines’ plight with a shiver.

“I’m gonna get you, Reed!!” Evidently, Nines was still hellbent on revenge, it seemed, but there was a trace of childish innocence behind his next ‘threats’. Eyes playfully darting about the scene, Nines added, “When I get my hands on you, Reed, I’m going to turn _you_ into a damn snowman!!”

Smiling all teeth, Gavin cried, “You can do that, but only if you catch me first, Nines!” He yelled out a few light insults with a laugh, flinging another snowball at his taller partner. Soon, Gavin made his own personal ‘trenches’ of snow by digging them up with his hands while Nines assaulted him with snowballs nonstop. Quickly ducking behind his snow fortress that came up to shield his neck if he bent down on his hands and knees, Gavin skirted the corner of his ‘trench’ as he looked at the steps leading back up to the patio. Unsure of whether or not he could make it, he nearly slid and crashed down to his chest when a snowball sailed past his head like a deadly bullet.

“Stop moving!!” Nines yelled out, dive-bombing Gavin with three rapidly flying snowballs thrown on top of his head from above.

“Never, you gothic snow bitch!” Making a break for it, Gavin scrambled to his feet, and he flew away while cackling monstrously.

Closing his eyes, he saw brightness even in the night. It was a beautiful night in Detroit, indeed. Snow coated every surface, fluffy and white and perfect. The once moody detective Reed took all of this in, awe filled eyes glimmering with a childish sense of joy as he gazed around the backyard and thought of all the other serene, peaceful sights that they’d yet to see…

SPLAT!!

Taken by surprise, Gavin stumbled back and landed on the ground roughly when a snowball hit him square in the chest. “Nines!!” he yelled petulantly, no longer caring how wet, tired, and cold he was. His partner’s loud, deep guffaws could be hear as another snowball smacked the back of Gavin’s head. Quickly, Gavin scanned the area for where Nines could possibly be hiding when he saw a brief flash of black; Nines’ jacket. Gavin grinned and hid behind a nearby tree, sneaking towards his unsuspecting android friend. He smirked as he spotted Nines looking around the side of the boulder he was crouched behind, attempting to find him.

Gavin crept slowly, footsteps nearly completely silent in the thick snow. He lunged forward, grabbing Nines by the collar of his thin jacket and wrestling him playfully into a headlock. But it was no use; Nines gained the upper hand in a flash, and Gavin flailed around wildly in surprise. To get a proper hold on the squirming detective, Nines dropped the snowballs he’d been holding and started pulling at Gavin’s arm around his neck. “I told you I’d kick your ass, Reed,” Nines snickered, picking Gavin up off the ground easily like he weighed nothing.

Not wanting to be intimidated even though he’d been beaten, Gavin stubbornly snapped as his jaw jutted out forward. “How exactly did that go for you?” Teasing Nines was his only option as the powerful android held Gavin’s struggling form against himself, scooping up handful after handful of snow with his free hand and dumping it over Gavin’s head.

“This well, I should say.”

A series of odd whining and gasping noises came from Gavin as he struggled and bucked to get away from Nines’ playful attacks. “Holy shit!!! Nines!! That shit’s cold!!”

Watching him trembling, Nines snickered, though it wasn’t cruel. “Have you had your fill, then?”

“Please!! I’ll stop!”

Nines laughed at Gavin’s desperate pleading. Still, that didn’t prevent him from scooping up even more snow and dumping it down the back of Gavin’s shirt. The detective yelped and shot forward with sudden force, breaking Nines’ hold on him if only for a few seconds. Nines pursued him immediately, grabbing him around the middle and dragging him back down so his back was tightly pressed against his chest.

Accidentally, Gavin’s lower back and ass rubbed directly over Nines’ front in just the perfect way.

A very abrupt noise escaped from Gavin’s throat, a raspy moan that was unmistakable in reason. Nines froze, his hands instinctively gripping Gavin’s hips tightly. The human’s shoulders tensed, and silence stretched on for what felt like an eternity before Nines finally spoke. “Reed…was that…are you…” Nines’ sinister nature shrank in on himself in complete and utter mortification at what he’d felt. He waited until it was quite obvious that he would get no answer from his horrified work partner before he spoke again.

“Reed,” he said in a most regal tone. Gavin’s back straightened on reflex and Nines worked hard to hide a smirk. “Turn around. Turn around and look at me.” Now, he waited.

Slowly, Gavin turned to face his work partner, his face bright red in shame. His hands clenched the bottom of his coat, pushing it down in a pathetic attempt at covering up his more than obvious reaction to their bodies being pressed up against each other.

“Look me in the eye, Reed,” Nines commanded. Eventually, Gavin’s eyes met his hesitantly and Nines leaned in close. “Now tell me truthfully. Did our little tussle in the snow get you all hot and bothered?”

Not so eager to reply, Gavin gulped and shook his head, worrying his bottom lip with his teeth and adjusting his coat further over his lap.

“I…I’m not…” heat pooled in his cheeks and steam rose in the air aside from his labored breathing, “I’m fine, Nines.”

Nines only snorted and moved in closer, feeling Gavin’s nervous and uneven breaths ghosting across his cheekbone. Feeling overwhelmed, Gavin shrunk back but Nines strongly grabbed his hips and held fast. Unable to control it, Gavin let out another involuntary moan as Nines’ fingers dug into his pelvis. Gavin pressed his face into the side of Nines’ neck, his nose nudging the black and grey scarf tied there.

“Nines, I want…I want--!” Gavin gasped, hands flying up to push at Nines’ chest.

“Tell me what you want,” Nines grabbed his wrists and pulled, bringing his shaking hands up between them. He glanced over Gavin’s fingers within the gloves and licked his lips. He thoroughly enjoyed when Gavin gulped audibly. Slowly pulling the glove of Gavin’s left hand off in such a teasing way that it made Gavin’s entire body ache, Nines grinned as he moved in and kissed each slightly calloused fingertip, taking the last one into his mouth and sucking. Gavin’s face flushed, his eyelashes fluttering as he let out a deep, sexual moan.

“What is it you want, Gavin?” Nines teased far too pleasantly, and he began running Gavin’s finger over the seam of his lips. Eyes trained on Gavin’s the entire time, Nines had been about to pull and suck on the detective’s finger, when the cold, the wind, and the gentle sounds of the night suddenly slammed into Gavin potently.

As good as Nines was making him feel, he had to ask himself:

_What the hell am I doing?!_

No…he was heading into ‘confusing territory’, and Nines was leading him there unconsciously.

It was wrong.

With every ounce of fulsome anger he could muster, Gavin sneered as he drew up close to Nines and then scowled angrily at him. Ensuring that his voice was ferocious, he tore his hand out of Nines’, and he dropped it down at his side. “I want you to fuck off, do you hear me, Nines?! That’s what I want the most.”

It was a lie!! A big, fat lie!!! But he was unable to say this to Nines…he lacked the courage and conviction.

A defeated look was instantly upon Nines’ face. It flooded in through his eyes, first, and then swept down his entire body. His shoulders sank in, his chest heaved, and his LED light turned red. Blinking coldly, he stepped back and calmly drew his hands back. “Okay, Reed. I can respect that.”

Boots crunching in the snow loudly, Nines soon disappeared within the cottage, and it took Gavin at least five whole minutes of standing in the snow, the cold, the dark, and in the empty void he’d felt in his own heart steadily surrounding himself.

His heart hurt…pressing a hand down on it within his chest, he felt the pain shooting up and searing through his body as he clenched his teeth together tightly and just felt raw pain. There, it flowed freely, unwelcome like a strange beast.

It wasn’t a complete stranger to him, however.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ...and then they don't ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯


	53. One Night in Detroit

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oops, I forgot to include the damn sex warning thing.

December 18th and 19th passed on very quietly for Nines and Gavin. Though they stayed under the same roof, they hardly spoke to each other, hardly made time for one another, hardly saw each other. It was a collective effort made for the purposes of avoiding each other, and quite ironically the only task the two men seemed to be able to do both together, and when they were physically apart. However, things grew bleak and turgid far too soon. As December 20th slowly breezed by and the evening sky grew darker than ever around just barely 5 p.m., Gavin found himself lying down flatly on his bed. He slept in a separate room than Nines, of course, and as much as he appreciated having his privacy, something about the way he’d treated Nines earlier was just…well, needless to say, Gavin felt it hurt himself more than it hurt Nines, probably.

Why had he pushed Nines away again?!?! It seemed to be a running theme and the fastest ‘go-to-method’ for Gavin lately, but the angry detective found he didn’t enjoy doing it as he once had in the past. No, the same familiar rings to it all were gone, and now, feelings of pain, emptiness, and remorse sank into him like a hook cutting through his burning flesh.

The fuck was wrong with him?!

“Stupid Nines,” he cursed, turning to lie on his back as he folded his arms over his chest and stared at the ceiling pot lights. They were dimmed, and as Gavin felt the darkness around himself suffocating him, he snapped his eyes shut. He could’ve sworn a headache was coming, and he didn’t know how to take care of it, now.

Well, popping pills was always an option, but he hadn’t eaten, yet, and he couldn’t run around popping pills down his throat on an empty stomach…and he was too fucking lazy to cook…damn!!

….

Could Nines possibly—

Nearly smacking himself upside the head for even daring to conjure up such a foolish thought in the first place, Gavin chastised and scolded himself internally. _Don’t be so fuckin’ dumb and daft. Nines ain’t gonna cook shit for you. Besides, it’s not like we need his help, anyway._

But then again, Gavin didn’t know much beyond how to crack and boil an egg…hell, sometimes, he even fucked up opening a can of soup and instant noodles. That was as far as his culinary skills went, all due to persistent laziness, and a fondness for fast food. He knew how ‘stuck’ he was without Nines, but his pride and ego were too enormous to stand out of his way.

Trying to tough it out, Gavin groaned as he draped a blanket over himself, burying his head deeply beneath it as he closed his eyes and tried ignoring that stupid music he could hear coming from the hallway outside his closed door.

It was so annoying!!!

…..

Why was Nines playing music for, anyway?!?

As much as Gavin wanted to get himself out of bed and bang on Nines’ door to get him to cut it out, he found he couldn’t; the music was actually helping…it was almost…lulling him like a soft, soothing lullaby into a deep sleep…

_You’re just too good to be true,_

_I can’t take my eyes off of you,_

_You’d be like heaven to touch,_

_I wanna hold you so much,_

_At long last love has arrived,_

_And I thank God I’m alive,_

_You’re just too good to be true,_

_Can’t take my eyes off of you…_

_He was ten again, and he heard faint laughter ringing in the air as he looked up from his cartoons. It was a bright Sunday morning, and unfortunately, due to the heavy snowstorm from the night before, Gavin heard that Church was cancelled. He was kind of happy since he wouldn’t have to shower and wear such tight, clean suits, and he didn’t rejoice in the fact that he wasn’t mourning the loss of sitting and listening for hours straight to an old Priest delivering an annoyingly_ _sententious Sermon. Yes, he much preferred staying at home drawing, watching cartoons, and playing video games._

_He heard another squeal, and then it was followed by a giggle. It caught his attention, and Gavin shut off his HD TV as he made his way out of his bedroom and across the hall. He saw two shadows moving about quickly beneath the doorframe of his parents’ bedroom. Pausing for a moment, he noticed that they weren’t crying, screaming, or arguing!! This was good!!!_

_Feeling like things were okay, he moved his socked feet over the carpet courageously. He only paused after crossing the remaining distance between his hands and the door handle, and very gingerly, he pushed down on it. The door didn’t make much of a sound as it opened, and as it swung widely towards the left-hand side of the wall inside the bedroom, the music soared into his ears at full blast, now._

_Pardon the way that I stare,_

_There’s nothing else to compare,_

_The sight of you leaves me weak,_

_There are no words left to speak…_

_He found his parents dancing merrily near the large windows in the room. His mother was being twirled around gracefully and effortlessly by his father. Her beautiful bright green dress floated as she threw her head back and giggled. It was contagious, and Gavin soon found himself laughing along, too. His laughter caught his parents’ attention, and as they stopped dancing and moving about, his mother beamed at him._

_Stretching out her hands toward him invitingly, she cried out in sheer joy, “Gavin!! We have good news!!! Your daddy just signed a contract with a big Technology and Robotics company, and he is going to start working for them as their new hot-shot lawyer on New Year’s!!!”_

_Clapping, he raced towards his father, who picked him up and held him high._

_“Daddy!!!” _

_Laughing in joy, Felix spun around in circles, twirling himself and Gavin around._

_“Are you proud of your father, Gavin?” he cried out repeatedly, “aren’t you proud?”_

_“Yay!! Dad!!!” _

_But if you feel like I feel,_

_Please let me know that it’s real,_

_You’re just too good to be true,_

_Can’t take my eyes off of you…_

_He was standing in the middle of the busy, bustling morning streets, watching as the traffic drove by hurriedly. His father was standing next to him, and a little boy stood before them both. He didn’t want to look at the boy, so he didn’t. Wanting and needing comfort, Gavin sought out his father’s hand. He felt it in his own briefly…until the clicking of high heels distracted them both._

_Gavin felt his father releasing his hold on his hand, and as the young boy whimpered, he heard the heels growing closer and closer and closer…_

_He wasn’t going to look at the boy, nor the woman. _

_No…he wouldn’t._

_“Gavin,” came his father’s voice at his ears deeply, “don’t be rude; say ‘hello’…”_

_No…no…NO!_

_Click, click, click, click…_

_NO!_

_The boy with the ice-cold blue eyes glanced up at him then._

_“DAAAAAAD!!”_

Gavin suddenly bolted up in bed, and the first thing he felt was his lungs burning. He needed air!!

Remembering that the sheet had been pulled over his head, he yanked it off it one smooth motion, and he gulped down mouthfuls of fresh air like a drowning man leaping out of water. Sweat covered his entire face and neck, and he felt it dripping down his back as he sat up and tried moving towards the edge of the bed.

Feeling disgusted at how his own body felt, Gavin quickly showered all the muck and sweat off himself, but when he came back to check the time, he saw that it was past 1 a.m. in the morning.

Reeling, he gasped madly, “What the fuck…slept through the whole day?!”

This was definitely not a first; like he had in the gaming store, he was again losing time, and in quite the recondite manner.

Deciding to go over it later in the ‘morning’, Gavin tried getting back into bed after brushing his teeth. But the moment his head hit his pillow, he found that he was unable to sleep. His body had already slept over seven hours, technically. He didn’t require more, and now that he was through with resting, he wondered just what the hell he was to do.

…..

“Maybe I should go bug Nines for a bit…”

Yes, that didn’t sound like such a bad idea…after all, Gavin was pissed with the android for not even bothering to check on him and wake him to come down and eat. He deserved a good tongue lashing.

Determined, Gavin got out of bed.

~0~0~0~0~0

Gavin was relieved to find Nines in his room. The android was resting on his bed, back turned towards the door, though he was clearly reading a small book as his head lay upon a large, fluffy white pillow.

Gavin had barely pressed a hand against the door, when Nines growled aggressively, “Piss off, Reed.”

Wincing, Gavin whispered, “Shit…caught me, huh? I thought I was bein’ sneaky about it.”

Turning in bed, Nines threw his book down to the floor, and then turned off the bedroom lights in a hurry. Everything grew dark once he’d tapped on the LED light switch above on the wall, and they all were snuffed out. “Well, you thought wrong, just as I thought wrong about you.”

Gavin was drawn to this, and he asked, “Oh? What do you mean?”

Shifting, Nines growled mutinously, “I guess I got the wrong idea about you…”

“Stop speakin’ in riddles, Nines!” Gavin snapped, patience already thin, “it’s always the both of us fuckin’ up, last time I checked!!”

Nines didn’t say anything, and as Gavin stood trembling dressed only in black shorts and a black t-shirt, all he could offer was a simple, “I’m sorry.”

Not even looking over his shoulder, Nines eventually mumbled, “Are you going to come in? Or do you plan on wasting more time just standing in the damn doorway while you shiver yourself to the bone?”

That invitation was good enough; he paced over to Nines’ bed in hurried motions. Holding his hands before himself like a child, his eyes begged first before he asked, “Umm, can you scoot over a bit? Make some room?”

Snarling, Nines did just that, shockingly. He shifted, making it so that the right side of his bed became vacant and unoccupied for Gavin. Eyeing the large space he’d soon have all to himself, as the cold detective settled beneath the heavy blankets, he whispered, “Thanks, Nines.”

“Whatever, Reed,” Nines spat, turning his back towards Gavin. Red LED light bouncing off the walls like some kind of mystical laser, he grunted, “Why’re you awake at this time of night, anyway?”

Truthfully and with ease, Gavin sighed a dreary sigh. “I fell asleep around five, and my body just woke me up, I guess. It had its fill…”

Shifting in the inclement silence, Nines seemed to mull this over. Gavin hated that his answer was currently being assessed, as he’d heard rumors from Tina Chen that the RK900 was skilled in the art of lie detecting. He hoped that wasn’t really true, and just a rumor. He didn’t want Nines to stop trusting him, nor did he want to head into dark territories of having to explain his memories…

Luck was on his side; Nines remained quiet.

Breathing out an air of relief, Gavin supplied, “I’m sorry I was a dumbass before…again.”

Nodding, Nines quickly blurted out rudely, “Seems to be a part of your repertoire, Reed.”

“Touché.”

……

And then there was silence; painful silence, at that.

…..

Gavin was annoyed; Nines still wasn’t facing him, though he had every reason to take umbrage with the human lately.

Reaching forward with a hand, he gripped Nines’ left shoulder and tried pulling him over. “Can you fuckin’ look at me while we talk?!”

Shrugging his hand off his person, Nines growled deeply, “Why should I face you?! So you can make a move on me again and then just push me away like I’m some piece of shit you stumbled upon in the streets?!”

This stung for many reasons, and Gavin cried out vehemently, “I wasn’t doing that on purpose!” Sitting up, he added, “Who the fuck do you think I am, Nines?!”

With a roar, Nines too sat up, and with his red LED light practically blinding Gavin, he screamed, “I think you seem to be conveniently forgetting that I have feelings for you, dumb shit!!”

Jaw quivering, Gavin felt his stomach lurching as he rasped, “Y-you do?!”

Rolling his eyes, Nines hissed, temper already flaring. “Oh, don’t be stupid, Reed.”

“I’m askin’ you seriously, Nines!” Gavin retorted angrily, “are you playin’ around with me?!”

Shaking his head firmly, Nines replied, “I’m not. I wouldn’t for matters as serious and sensitive as this.”

Clasping his sweaty hands together, a nervous Gavin then asked, “B-but how can you…I mean…” pointing at Nines, he breathed, “…I didn’t think you were serious about me, Nines.”

Head tilted sarcastically, Nines gasped, “Oh no? Then I wonder just what went through your mind when I sucked your cock, almost fingered you, and ate you out.” Rolling his eyes, he sighed, “Are _all_ you humans this thick in the head?!”

Blushing immensely when he heard of Nines retelling just what they’d done together in the realms of intimacy, Gavin ground out as he gripped the sheets, “Hey! Shut up!! Half of my brain wasn’t even functioning when those things happened!!”

Nines’ LED light went back and forth from red to yellow numerous times, beaming in the darkness until Gavin reached up with a hand and covered it…only to have Nines snatch his wrist in a strong grip and shove his hand down. “Don’t touch me, Reed,” the angry android warned as he turned around and lay back down once more. “Just get to sleep and stop bothering me.”

Being moved aside slightly with how strongly Nines snatched the sheets and blanket around himself, Gavin glared at his partner’s turned back as he gratingly hissed, “You are so sensitive these days. Whatever happened to the stone cold RK900 I met two years ago?”

He could actually sense Nines’ shoulders tensing up, and for a moment, Gavin cursed himself for not having the decency to shut his mouth. Frankly, he knew that in the deep recesses of his mind, there was absolutely nothing wrong with Nines. Since he turned into a deviant, Gavin found he actually enjoyed having him around in the DPD a lot more. His own stuck-up attitude and large ego however rendered him feeling invidious, and since he lacked the courage to ‘change’ his ways, he still knew he was targeting and ‘bullying’ Nines. It was all just a force of habit, and the constant need for Gavin to fear things he didn’t like and didn’t understand. Perhaps if someone _did _break it all down for him so he had time to understand, then maybe he would cease being an inveterate aggressor.

Feeling irksome since Nines had yet to say anything, Gavin poked him right between the shoulder blades, though Nines strangely didn’t move.

……

“Nines?”

Suddenly, the sheets rustled, and as Gavin gazed over at the yellow LED light that was his only source of illumination in the pitch black mass suffocating him, Gavin was met with the sight of Nines’ eyes staring deeply at his own in the darkness. It didn’t take Gavin too long to understand that due to his broken facial expression, Nines was too enervated. And all because of what Gavin had said to him…

Smiling weakly, Nines only offered, “Th-that part of me died a long time ago, Reed.” His eyes flickered up into Gavin’s, and they both blinked together at the same time. “I’ve…I just...”

Gavin felt a lump rising in his throat, and he hated it. He hated that all because of a damn android, he felt like he was going to cry. What the hell was wrong with him?! What kind of a fucked up midlife crises was this?! He didn’t need these jejune thoughts!! At his age, society told him it was completely okay to change his hairstyle to something someone in their twenties would get!! He should’ve been doing that!! He should’ve been going after some women more than half his own age to hang out with!! He should’ve started up a motorcycle collection, a tattoo collection and living it up every night in town visiting different bars and getting so shit-faced that it wouldn’t matter anymore come morning!!

And yet, here he was, spending time with a _male_ android, and one he was pretty certain he had feelings for just as Nines had confessed the very same thing to him.

Sniffling, Gavin wiped his eyes, but it was too late; Nines had heard him.

“Are you crying?!”

Immediately getting defensive, Gavin barked dejectedly as he shoved Nines. “Don’t be dumb, man! It’s just a cold!!”

……

“I’ve just scanned your system; you’re perfectly healthy.”

……

“Fuckin’ androids!!”

…..

“You have a pretty big erection, though.”

…..

Peeking down between his legs, he found that it was true, much to his sheer horror.

“What the fuck?!?!” Of course, his body had to go and betray him too, now.

Scrambling to get out of the bed, Gavin’s frantic movements only caused him to get further tangled up in the sheets, unfortunately. He nearly toppled down onto the floor, and he would’ve likely bashed his head against the sharp edge of the glass night table, had Nines not caught him cleverly at the very last minute.

Whispering words of comfort in his ear, Nines brought him back up onto the bed at his side while Gavin struggled to no avail.

The irate detective seemed insistent upon remaining intransigent, even though a part of himself wished to stay close to Nines.

“Reed,” came Nines’ deep rumble of a baritone voice, “just relax and stay here for a bit.”

“Wh-why should I?!”

Nines pulled both his own and Gavin’s pillows slightly closer together once he determined that Gavin wasn’t going to flee. Shimmying his body in a more comfortable position as he faced Gavin while the other man just sat on the bed, Nines answered softly, “Because I’m just as confused as you are.”

This was odd to hear, and Gavin snipped out coldly, “There’s no confusion for you, man; you just told me that you have feelings for me.”

_Just like I do for you, Nines…_

Nines sighed, though his mien was more than perplexed. “That’s not what’s causing my confusion.”

Intrigued to know more, Gavin decided to lie down on his side and face Nines just as the RK900 was doing currently. Giving up any struggles his brain ordered for him to present, he lay down on his right side, and he turned to directly face Nines. There were at least four or so inches away from their bodies, at least, and that was the only thing that made Gavin feel comfortable enough with staying.

Staring intently at Nines despite how dark it was, Gavin waited patiently until the android chose to speak up again.

“Earlier a few days ago in the yard,” Nines began with slight fondness, “I thought things were going well, and then you just told me to fuck off. You confuse me, Reed.”

Shrugging an insouciant shrug, Gavin wished internally that he could cease portraying the wrong message to Nines, for once. He didn’t think at all that this conversation was a show of banality, and yet, his shrugging and muffled replies seemed to suggest only that. Thankfully, however, Nines didn’t seem to pick on it or care enough to let that notion overpower the conversation.

Staring up at the ceiling, Nines continued assenting, “I don’t know how much of a compliment this may be for you, Reed, but you’re one of the weirdest men I’ve ever met.”

And for some reason, that didn’t offend Gavin in the slightest. He only threw his head back and chuckled, and it caused Nines to smile a genuine smile as well.

“Glad that’s amusing,” the android huffed out, “but I meant it, you know.”

Moving his pillow a little closer, Gavin chuckled out, “Well, that’s how I roll, Nines! Deal with it.”

“Oh, I am,” Nines purred a little too sensually, and the way he said it sent shivers up and down Gavin’s spine almost automatically. Only Nines was capable of making him feel such things in the blink of an eye, it seemed.

When the mild joke was over, Nines turned only his upper torso to rest flatly as he draped an arm across his forehead. A thoughtful expression crossed over his handsome features as he exclaimed lightly, “Well, at least you haven’t tried punching me again…”

Gavin’s intemperate eyes swept over Nines’ body, lingering on certain bits longer than normal. Nines didn’t even notice. Taking advantage of that, Gavin playfully quipped, “Yeah, well if you try anythin’ funny again, I’ll beat your ass for sure, fuckwad.”

Settling further back into the soft mattress, Nines said pleasantly, “It was kinda funny that Hank punched me, huh?”

Smirking, Gavin replied, “Guess so.”

Letting out a huff of air, Nines forlornly stated, “I’m just counting the days when we argue again. I know that’s a shitty thing to do, but—”

Trying to distract him while he inched closer very carefully, Gavin asked gently, “What do you want for Christmas?”

This caught Nines off guard, and he gazed obliquely across the room. “Hmm,” he hummed as he thought about it, “not really sure…this is literally my first Christmas shared and spent with someone else…”

“That a fact?” Gavin’s fingers escaped from the confines of the blanket’s top, and they moved down lower and lower towards Nines’ body.

Nodding, Nines answered, “It’s a fact. Come to think of it, I’ve always wondered—hey!! Reed!!” Breath hitching in his throat when Nines finally felt Gavin’s fingers wavering over his dark pajama bottoms, he hissed when he sensed Gavin trying to pull open the drawn-up knot his pants strings tied up his front in.

Lifting his head off his pillow as he turned his body completely towards Gavin’s, he gasped, “What’re you doing?!”

“Shh,” Gavin hushed him, undoing the knot lazily as he smirked confidently at Nines. “Just tryin’ somethin’ as a means of an apology, Nines.”

Fighting back, Nines glowered at him as he snapped, “Just a verbal apology is good enough for me, Reed! There’s no need for this!!”

“Yes, there is,” Gavin moaned softly once he’d opened up Nines’ pajama pants in the front and exposed his cock beneath the sheets. Gasping playfully in awe, he then snickered, “Commando? Nice, Nines.”

Seizing up in spite of Gavin’s approval, Nines tried shoving Gavin’s hands away from his front. “Stop that, Reed, we’re both going to get—”

Almost aggressively, Gavin yanked Nines’ right hand forward to rest over the front of his own shorts. “It’s okay, Nines,” he reassured his partner gently, “you can also touch me, if you want.”

He saw the precise moment where Nines’ eyes glazed over with raw lust and desire. The android’s eyes nearly turned completely black, but he was still fighting to remain in control. Clearing his throat, he leaned back as much as he could while he tried pulling his hips away from Gavin’s body. “I seriously don’t think this is a good idea, Reed,” Nines stated his opinion factually. “You’re only going to end up regretting it in the morning.”

“I won’t,” Gavin promised in a husky tone of voice as he pulled down his shorts as much as he could. “Just touch me and I’ll touch you, too.”

This was a promise and a unique situation Nines didn’t seem to want to pass up, suddenly. He got his hands moving, and on his own accord, he pressed them both down over Gavin’s strong hips. The sheets fell back between them, slightly, though it wasn’t enough to expose their bodies. Staring intently down at Gavin’s waist, Nines stroked the male’s hipbones for a moment before his hands wandered to firmly massage and grip the detective’s lean thighs. Before his hands could glide between the insides of his legs, however, Nines glanced up once, and he asked Gavin in a stern tone, “Are you _sure_ you want me to go ahead? I don’t think I’ll stop later on…I can’t if it’s with you, so you gotta be sure about this.”

Not even hesitating, Gavin answered, “I am sure. Please touch me, Nines.”

“As you wish.”

Immediately, his shorts were completely removed. Nines wasted no time in tossing them off the bed savagely, making room for Gavin’s legs to move around as he then gently touched him over his underwear. Shrugging those off, too, Nines removed only both their lower articles of clothing until they were both completely nude from the waist down.

“I’m going to keep the sheets over us, if that’s alright with you,” he randomly announced, and Gavin only snickered.

“Fine by me.” As long as he could feel what Nines was doing, that was good enough.

As Nines’ hands roamed between his legs, over his hips, and grazed his heated erection, Gavin felt his body burning up. He deeply groaned and thrust his hips against Nines’, grinding his erection into the other man’s abdomen. Why was it all feeling so delicious?! He could’ve sworn that it _never _felt this way with women!!!

Frowning at his thoughts wandering in that direction, Gavin made the conscious decision not to think about his other sexual experiences when he was with Nines. That was just wrong, and he didn’t want to disrespect his partner. It was time to enjoy whatever he was sharing and experiencing with Nines alone. No one else had any place in his mind or heart.

Riddled with heated passion, Nines brought his hands down to cup Gavin’s naked ass. The detective hissed when there was a clear distinction and contrast between how warm the sheets felt against his feverish body, and how cool Nines’ hands felt. Gavin’s arms fell to hold onto Nines’ hips, and in turn, Nines’ hands encouraged Gavin to continue flexing his hips and pressing his erection into his own body. Finally, when the friction they were creating was too much to bear, Gavin threw his head back and moaned.

Opening heavy-lidded eyes when he felt Nines pressing a soft kiss to the pallor of his throat, the detective observed the android’s flushed face, black, mussed hair, and rejoiced upon hearing his panting breaths. Having always been a creature who relied on visual aids during sex, Gavin couldn’t take his eyes off Nines, and as a result, he felt himself growing wetter and wetter. “Fuck,” he muttered when he felt Nines toying with his erection. “Why’re you so sexy, Nines?”

Gathering up as much precum as he could, Nines lubed up both their cocks and lined them up. When they made contact, Gavin hissed between clenched teeth, “Nines!! Ho-ow a-are you s-so fuckin—oooh…” This man…this man was going to drive him crazy before they were even through.

Kissing his neck feverishly a few times, Nines whispered, “I don’t know.”

Frankly, neither of them knew what they were talking about, anymore, and they didn’t care.

Gavin brought his hands up to Nines’ chest and began pulling off the other man’s shirt quickly. Nines eyed him in confusion, barely managing to ask, ‘What,’ when Gavin groaned, “It’s too hot.”

“You’re too hot, and too fucking sexy,” Nines whispered back, and it made Gavin’s eyes roll back into his head pleasurably. He had no words for Nines for now, and all he did was gyrate his hips as his ears enjoyed the lewd sounds of their slicked cocks rubbing against each other beneath the blankets.

As they moved together like that in such slow, lazy motions, the bed and mattress creaked beneath their weight. Suddenly, Gavin grabbed one of Nines’ hands and placed it directly between his legs, just over the cleft in between his body. Thrusting his hips forward, Gavin groaned, “Please, I n-need you inside…”

Slowly, Nines shook his head. “As tempting as that offer is, I’m still going to have to decline, Gavin.” He gave Gavin’s cock a gentle squeeze as he pressed his own hips directly into the detective’s, facial expression wavering between raw hunger, and the need to be gentle enough to take his time. “I will, however, help you out with this…”

Letting out quite the frustrated moan as Nines massaged his prominent erection firmly, he felt the handsome android slide his hands up and down the length of his cock. The sensations drew a sharp breath from Gavin when Nines’ hand closed around the head of his cock and gently tugged it.

Panting desperately, Gavin barely managed to open his eyes as he cried out, “Nines, l-let me t-touch you too, please!” He quickly reached for Nines’ cock while the android slowed his motions down and watched him. Getting no response as far as a ‘negative’ was concerned, a much more confident Gavin summoned enough energy and stamina to touch Nines’ firm cock. It was a lot thicker and longer than his own, he found out, and he blushed. He wondered why he hadn’t paid much attention to Nines’ well-endowed body previously, and in just a few seconds, Gavin had Nines’ weeping cock in his hands. While he took his time to explore how Nines was built, he found himself growing hotter and harder under his hand’s ministrations.

When and how did it come to be that Gavin Reed found cocks arousing?!? He truly wondered, but he hoped that it was just for Nines that he was feeling this way.

Gavin stroked Nines, matching the rhythm that the lust-filled android was using on his own cock. It wasn’t long before both men wrapped their legs around each other and drew closer together. Gavin’s passion and lust suddenly got the better of him. He began moaning louder than ever, thrusting his hips wildly, and babbling incoherently.

Nines leaned down, snaking his tongue out to trace Gavin’s ear and whispered, “Come for me, Gavin. Come for me, now.”

Upon hearing that command, Gavin couldn’t hold back any longer. He arched his back and came in long, sticky spurts all over Nines’ abdomen and his own thighs.

When Gavin settled down from his euphoric state, he noticed that his hand was consistently and slowly stroking Nines’ still tumescent cock. The other male was watching him through half opened eyes, and it was the same look that Nines’ often gave him whenever he thought Gavin wasn’t watching or noticing.

Aroused even more by the look despite having experienced a wondrous orgasm only seconds ago, Gavin leaned up on his elbows as he nuzzled his face against Nines’ neck. Ardently, he whispered, “You’ve n-no idea how good you feel.”

Gently kissing the side of his jaw, Nines purred back, “Same goes for you, sexy.”

Gavin smiled lazily and wiggled down Nines’ lap until he was retreating beneath the warm sheets. Nines kept a close watch on him, lifting up the blankets to make room for him while Gavin inched down further and further. Finally, he stopped as he was kneeling between the android’s long legs. Pushing Nines’ hands off his own cock, Gavin took his time to touch Nines’ arousal in the dark, trying to map out where it was in front of himself. Before Nines could object, and before he lost his confidence, Gavin leaned forward and swallowed the thick cock whole.

“Fuck! Gaaavin!!”

Taking his time to get used to the feeling of a heavy dick in his mouth, Gavin closed his eyes and tried emulating whatever his ex-girlfriends had done for him in the past.

Apparently, whatever he was doing seemed to be right, for Nines deeply groaned and fisted his hands in his hair. “H-holy hell, Gavin…” he panted while trying not to slam his hips into the detective’s face. “Where did you learn to do that??” He groaned again when a tentative tongue swirled around the tip of his leaking cock deliciously in rather inexperienced patterns Nines found he was enthralled by.

Gavin chuckled, causing vibrations to go through Nines’ cock. He wanted to lean back to facetiously say, “I’ve had a bit of practice,” before beginning his task again, but he figured that would likely make Nines jealous and take it far too seriously. This time, Gavin began bobbing his head up and down Nines’ length. Every so often he would stop with just the head in his mouth, tonguing the tip and pressing gently on the sensitive spot underneath the head. Then, he would resume his bobbing, relaxing his throat to let the leaking cock slide down inside his tight throat. He had no idea if he was even doing this correctly, and he mentally apologized a few times when he knew his teeth had grazed Nines’ skin. Thankfully, androids didn’t seem to feel pain at all, and Nines only whispered, “Teeth,” in a light warning every so often when Gavin didn’t use enough tongue or was using too much of his teeth accidentally.

Gavin was rather surprised to discover that Nines’ body reacted much like any human male’s. When Gavin felt Nines’ balls tightening, he slid back until just the head of Nines’ erection was in his mouth. Sucking hard and massaging Nines’ balls, Gavin heard deep moans of pleasure above. It felt too warm beneath the sheets, and Gavin was sweating in many uncomfortable ways. Thankfully, Nines drew the covers back, and fresh air swept into Gavin’s lungs. In a show of gratitude, he sucked deeper than he ever imagined possible, and Nines lost control as he twitched his hips and bucked them off the bed into the air.

At once, Gavin’s efforts were rewarded with a mouthful of watery-like release. He swallowed every drop, not allowing any to escape. As he licked his lips, he found it refreshing; Nines didn’t taste quite like anything, thankfully. He didn’t want to even think of swallowing down salty semen.

Staring up at him, Nines’ jaw fell slack as he rasped, “You…you swallowed it all the first time?”

Shyly, Gavin wiped his lips with the back of a hand as he whispered, “Yeah…”

A fire was ignited right in the center of Nines’ eyes. “You’re such a good boy…”

Gavin was then pulled roughly onto Nines’ body as they both crashed down into the bed. The strong android powerfully and tightly wrapped his arms possessively around the shorter male, and as he slid a strong finger beneath Gavin’s chin, he captured Gavin’s mouth in a searing kiss. Relaxing into the kiss, Gavin’s mind went blank as he settled himself on top of Nines, nearly coming again when he felt their bare bodies sliding gracefully against each other. The position Gavin was currently in felt just too delectable; his ass was right above the tip of Nines’ cock. All he had to do was press down with his hips, and then…

Fingers curling through his hair, Nines pulled back from the kiss abruptly. His eyes searched Gavin’s in the dark, and he whispered desperately, “Oh my god, help me, please…for I don’t think I can help myself…”

Unable to stop himself, Gavin softly asked, “Do you lo—” He was cut off by Nines driving his tongue back into his mouth deeply and seductively. Once the tip of their tongues met and rubbed together just the same way their cocks did, Gavin felt his words sucked right out of his lungs.

Without much of any other thought getting in the way, Gavin decided to just enjoy whatever this was while he still had a chance. Nines’ arms just felt too damn good around his body, and he allowed the android to roll him back down into the mattress as he began showering him with kisses nonstop.

Yes, they had the rest of the night, and morning always arrived too quickly, after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For God's sake, Nines, Gavin, get a fucking room already.


	54. Smile, Though Your Heart is Aching

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you Jimmy Durante.

The morning of December 21st fell upon Gavin too soon, just as he’d suspected. He woke up all by himself in the large bed he’d fallen asleep in last night, and as he slowly adjusted his eyes to the morning light streaming in through the windows, he growled when he saw that Nines’ side of the bed was already made up nicely and neatly with the fluffy white pillow propped against the headboard.

Rubbing sleep from his eyes, Gavin mumbled, “Jerk.” He hated that Nines kept doing this, but he didn’t have anything to say…not until he introduced some caffeine into his system, first and foremost. It was never easy to think when he didn’t have his morning ‘punch’.

His shower didn’t take long at all, but when Gavin walked down the cottage steps towards the kitchen, he heard his phone vibrating somewhere on one of the kitchen counters. Upon snatching his phone up and staring at it, he saw that he’d received a text…from Nines.

**Fuck Stick Plastic Prick, 9:04 a.m.**

**I need some time and space to myself for a few days, Reed. **

He was already pissed before reading the next text, but Gavin forced himself to do it, anyway. He at least wanted to understand the entire picture before he started swearing at Nines like a fired-up twenty-one-year-old.

**Fuck Stick Plastic Prick, 9:08 a.m.**

**This isn’t about you; it’s me, mostly. Last night was…well, I’m sure it was as wonderful for you as it was for me, and because of it, I just need to be on my own and collect my thoughts, Reed. I assure you that you haven’t done anything wrong, and I don’t want you to be mad at me. I just need a few days, but I’m in town. I’ll return on Christmas Eve, don’t worry.**

Not entirely convinced, Gavin sat down as he texted out: **can u stop dumpn me whenvr we get closer? its hurtful, Nines/!**

Not in the mood to have his coffee, now, Gavin fished out a cigarette from his sweater pocket as he waited for Nines’ text. He wasn’t disappointed with waiting long, thankfully, but Nines’ next text didn’t exactly make him feel desired and wanted.

**Fuck Stick Plastic Prick, 9:17 a.m.**

**I’m not dumping you, Reed! I’m trying to understand what we’re BOTH feeling here so I can accommodate what we both want! What’s wrong with that?!**

Hands trembling as he lit his cigarette, Gavin inhaled a few times and steadied his nerves before texting back: **runnin away isnt exactly helpin, you frak! com back and talk to e!!!**

Ignoring his own spelling errors, he opened the kitchen windows before the smoke detector went off. He should’ve known better than to smoke inside the cottage, but he was beyond livid and irate to care. All that mattered was the fact that in his opinion, Nines was now clearly using him for sex. God, when did he start acting and thinking like such a wuss?!? Did it matter that they were just fucking?? Did he seriously _need_ it to mean more than that???

**Fuck Stick Plastic Prick, 9:28 a.m. **

**Let’s not argue about this right now, okay Reed? We’ll talk again when you’re calm.**

Seeing red, Gavin couldn’t stop himself from biting down on his cigarette and practically crushing it between his teeth as he composed his next angry message.

**Gavin Reed: 9:30 a.m.**

**Yeah sur, il just wait here whie u go off and fuck someone else.**

Amazed at his own wild assertions, he couldn’t believe that he’d immediately leapt to that conclusion. Again, why was he behaving so irrationally and so emotionally when it came to Nines?! Why was he so possessive and damn jealous? They hadn’t decided on officially being together, after all, and Gavin knew that given their current situation, he had no rights whatsoever to dictate to Nines how he chose to spend his spend, and with whom he chose to spend his time.

Madness. This was sheer madness.

His phone alerted him to the next text, thankfully, pulling him out of his muddied thoughts.

**Fuck Stick Plastic Prick, 9:34 a.m. **

**Thanks for having some faith and trust in me, Reed. It helps. **

**Gavin Reed, 9:35 a.m.**

**well wer not together. only fuck buddies, as far as i can tel. so screw off. **

Dumping the ashes of his cigarette in the middle of a tiny swan shaped ashtray, his eyes stung and burned as he ceased blinking while he awaited Nines’ reply.

**Fuck Stick Plastic Prick, 9:39 a.m.**

**I told you, Gavin, you’re the one I have feelings for. I meant my words sincerely. I’m not the type to try and win someone’s affections over while bedding down another person. I’m wholly dedicated and loyal to you, believe it or not. I sometimes wonder how and why, though, especially considering how much you try to push me away. I need you to just get it through your head that I want to get closer to YOU; I’m not interested in anyone else, and frankly, I don’t want there to be anyone else. But right now, I just need you to hold it together and give us both some time and space. This isn’t a break or anything like a ‘goodbye’, please listen to me and just trust me instead of arguing and pegging me as a damn enemy. **

Gavin read that text over at least six times before his body told him that it was about time to shut the fucking windows before his ass froze over. Nearly crushing his fingers in between the windows as he slid them shut forcefully, Gavin shivered as he stared down at his phone. Nines hadn’t texted him again, and frankly, he didn’t want him to.

As much as he hated to admit it, Nines was right; they needed to think, and the best way they could do so was by spending time apart.

He then began planning what he was going to do in order to spend the time span measuring of the next three days so it would all fly by quickly. Gavin sadly found that he was longing to chat with Nines and to see him again already.

~0~0~0~0~0

On December 22nd, Gavin cleaned up the backyard, and then spent a few hours enjoying the hot tub. Well, he tried to, anyway, but he hadn’t been used to bathing and showering alone when he had sexual and romantic feelings for someone, and he reluctantly had to force himself to get out of the tub too quickly before he resorted to just remaining in there to stew like a bitter old man. He spent the rest of his evening that same day cooking and storing new dishes into the fridge, just for the hell of it. He knew he wasn’t going to be touching a bite of whatever the hell it was he’d prepared, but he was bored, and frustrated.

December 23rd was spent in the villa for half the day, and Gavin browsed through the tiny shops that were seasonal, as some only specifically kept Christmas gifts and items within them. At least he’d forced himself to get out for some fresh air. He spent more money in the villa than he thought, and his afternoon came to a nasty halt when he tried going skating on the large rink, only to fall flat on his ass and humiliate himself in front of tons of kids and teenagers.

Saying ‘fuck it all’ to that plan, Gavin limped his way back to the cottage, and he this time spent hours in the damn hot tub just to soothe out his pain and anger-both physically and mentally. After getting out of the tub when he felt significantly better, he decided to make some popcorn, smoke indoors again, and watch random stuff on TV before he fell asleep with his head hanging off the armrest of one of the sofas in the living room. Now, he had a sore neck, and he cursed himself for not setting an alarm before he fell into a deep sleep for so long in such an uncomfortable position.

Christmas Eve finally arrived, though the morning of the 24th moved at the pace of a snail on crutches going up a hill. It was torture. But, to ensure his time wasn’t all wasted, he took to his old habits, and he decided to send out some slightly petty and teasing ‘Merry Christmas’ texts and jokes to his co-workers.

He started off with Tina Chen.

**Gavin Reed, 11:56 a.m.**

**Merry X-Mas, you hoe, hoe, hoe!!**

Snickering, he impishly moved on to Ben Collins, next.

**Gavin Reed, 11:58 a.m.**

**r u sanats twin? Cuz ur jolly, fat, and round!!! Merry X-Mas, fatass. **

Tina replied back with a simple: **Kiss my ass, Reed**, and Ben Collins only sent him a Santa emoji.

Rather than being abstemious and austere becoming for a man of his age, the reprobate Gavin Reed shot out a particularly rude joke to Chris Miller.

**Gavin Reed, 12:01 p.m.**

**How does Santa stay STD free?**

Chris was a little slow texting back, but he sure enough did while Gavin lay in waiting like a jungle cat stalking its prey.

**Partner n’crime, 12:06 p.m.**

**reed? the hell?**

Sniggering fiendishly, Gavin hurriedly sent: **He always wraps his package before shoving it down the chimney.**

**Partner n’crime, 12:07 p.m.**

**ah shut up, reed! that’s sum nasty shit!**

Not quite finished, Gavin added in: **Dreaming of a white Christmas? Jingle my balls, baby.**

It was Connor’s turn, next, and Gavin immaturely sent him: **How many candy canes have u sucked already? Merry Shitmas, tincan!! **

Almost immediately, Connor fired back cleverly: **Not half as many as yourself, Gavin. Well, minus one; Nines’ candy cane, which I’m sure you’ll have tasted by Christmas morning. **

Out loud, Gavin seethed. “Been there, done that, and a bit earlier than Christmas morning, you shitface!”

However, he texted:

**Gavin Reed, 12:17 p.m.**

**Fuck u, Connor.**

**Connorblowsall, 12:17 p.m.**

**Merry Christmas, prick. **

**Gavin Reed, 12:18 p.m.**

**…Merry Christmas, Connor. I still hate ur guts tho**

Since he’d kind of been having fun and forgetting his heavy woes, Gavin unwittingly sent a joke to Captain Fowler without checking the recipient of his joke first.

**Gavin Reed, 12:22 p.m.**

**howre u and santa alike? u both cum once a year! HA!!!! Merry x-Massss!!!**

As soon as he’d recovered from his laughing fit, he saw Captain Fowler’s reply, and his heart stopped beating.

**Bossman, 12:24 p.m.**

**You’re fired, Reed.**

Nearly dropping his phone at least twice in the process of trying to text, Gavin almost broke down in agitated tears and terror as he texted out his next reply. When was he ever going to learn that his unmitigated stupidity had no limits, and rather shitty consequences?!

**Gavin Reed, 12:26 p.m.**

**HOLY SHIT!!! SIR!!! IM SO SORRY! I MEANT TO SEND THIS TO HANK!!! I SWEAR!!!! **

Before he could faint in a dull heap on the floor, Fowler sent back:

**Bossman, 12:29 p.m.**

**Gotcha, Reed!!! I think you’re enjoying your ‘vacation’ a little toooooo much, wouldn’t you say?**

Angrily shaking while also sweating nervously, Gavin sent him: **got tooo hell, Jeffrey, u nearly gave meea heart attak!!!**

**Bossman, 12:34 p.m.**

**Good. Maybe now you’ll start taking shit seriously. **

**Gavin Reed, 12:35 p.m.**

**Merry Christmas, asshole. **

**Bossman, 12:37 p.m.**

**Same to you, jackass.**

When he was relaxed again, Gavin wanted to copy and paste that last text for Hank, but something about sending that off seemed…wrong. Hank hadn’t done anything to him; in fact, he’d been the most helpful, and the kindest person in Gavin’s life so far. He of course wished to send a Merry Christmas message to the man, but a phone call seemed far better than a lousy text.

Hank deserved that, at least.

Moving over to sit inside the living room before the fireplace even though it was off, Gavin started to dial, and he made sure Hank was going to be on speaker. Leaning back on the most comfortable part of the sofa, Gavin didn’t think Hank would pick up, when he suddenly did right before his voicemail kicked in.

“Gavin! Hey!”

He knew Hank was smiling, and it made him smile even more. “Merry Christmas, Hank! He cheerfully sang out.

“Well, it’s technically Christmas Eve, Gavin!” Hank corrected pleasantly, “happy Christmas Eve!!”

“Happy Christmas Eve, Hank,” Gavin spoke out, not minding the inaccuracy and the fact that Hank had pointed it out for him. Ruffling his own hair, he smirked as he requested, “Hey! Can I wish Sumo and Shinobi an early Merry Christmas by any chance?”

Chuckling, Hank replied, “You sure can!!”

Seconds later, Gavin heard him crying out, “Sumo! Shinobi!!! Someone wants to talk to you!!”

Knowing he was now on speaker as well, Gavin waited until his ears caught sounds of Hank’s footsteps pounding on the floor, and then he clearly heard having panting. A wet snout sniffed at the phone, and Hank cried out in disgust, “This ain’t a chew toy, Sumo!! Down!! DOWN!!!”

“WOOF!!!”

“Mew! Mew!!!”

Laughing loudly, Gavin joyously cried, “Merry Christmas, Shinobi and Sumo!!”

Sumo howled, very alert and intelligent to know he was being spoken to. As he listened to the animal’s howls, Gavin heard Hank turning speaker off, and then he snapped, “Alright, alright!! You made your point, you lousy mutt!!”

“How big has Shinobi gotten?” Gavin asked, trying to come up with a new image of the runt kitten in his mind now that more than a month had gone by since he’d last seen the feline.

Humming Hank replied, “Kinda the same size, still, but his tail grew, and for some reason, he seriously still thinks he’s a dog.”

Suddenly, a loud ‘crash!’ came from the other end of the line, and even Gavin had to wince when Hank roared like a caged beast.

“SHINOBIIIIII!” His boisterous screams knew no end. “I’M GONNA KICK YOUR ASS!!!” Hank’s heavy feet thudded about somewhere, and Gavin paused to snort in amusement.

“What’s goin’ on, Hank?”

With a long huff of pure displeasure, Hank sniped, “Little bastard knocked over a few plates and flowerpots…on purpose!!”

Not surprised in the least, Gavin only chuckled before inquiring, “Other than that, what’s Christmas morning lookin’ like for you, Hank?” At the back of his mind, he remembered fully well that Hank preferred to be alone when he reminisced about young Cole in moments like this, but he hoped that Hank wouldn’t ponder and think of sad things, now.

Clicking his tongue against his teeth, Hank finally grunted out, “Just stayin’ home for the holidays, Reed…how’re you and Nines holdin’ up?”

The message was loud and clear for Gavin: that was all Hank was going to say on the matter, and it suited the detective just fine. “Nines and I are fine,” he half lied, “we’re just doin’ our own thing here at the cottage.”

“The hell?! You two got a cottage together?!”

Blinking sharply, Gavin hissed, “Nah, Hank, it’s my family’s cottage. My mom only suggested I bring Nines up here until Christmas. I guess it was her way for us to maybe have some time alone together.”

“Hmm,” Hank sighed, “you guys okay?”

Staring at his fingers, Gavin shrugged. “It’s…we can’t seem to get along unless we’re having sex.”

Hank coughed nervously for a moment, but surprisingly, he recovered from it swiftly enough to wheeze out, “Jesus, Gavin!!! Next time, throw in a warning there before a guy eats!!”

“Well, shit, Hank! How the fuck was I supposed to know you were eating?!” Fumbling to save face in light of his own mortification, Gavin felt his face drastically heating up.

“I just ordered a fucking pizza, for God’s sake, but never mind that if you’re gonna be narrating the whole experience,” the older man sighed out dramatically. “This is gonna sound rich comin’ outta me, but why’s it a bad thing to just have sex with someone you like?”

Seemingly having already read between all the lines, Gavin was grateful that Hank wasn’t shaming him for being extra intimate with Nines when their situation and relationship was far beyond ‘rocky’. The last thing he needed was someone berating him and bludgeoning him with phrases that would instill guilt and cause wreckage, but Hank Anderson never was the type to dish out such punishment in the first place.

Already feeling more than comfortable with telling Hank many things given how much he’d already opened up to his new ‘father figure’, Gavin asked, “Is it bad to be sexually intimate with someone outside of a relationship for so long?”

“Not necessarily,” Hank advised, “I mean, not to prattle on about myself, but when I was younger and still married, I actually found that I enjoyed a lot of ‘angry sex’ or ‘make up’ sex with my wife after a big argument.”

Chewing his lips and then fingers for a moment while pondering it over, Gavin sighed weakly, “Well, it’s not really the case here always, Hank. I mean,” he winced, wondering if he should continue, but then decided to go along considering how he’d already brought the subject up. “Nines and I can’t seem to be alone for even two minutes before we…yeah…you know the rest.”

“Animal attraction,” Hank laughed warmly, and it was a rich sound to Gavin’s ears. “Nothin’ wrong with that, but you have to maybe sit down with Nines eventually and decide on whether you want this all the time or not, Gavin, and sorry for intruding with my own opinions, but somethin’ tells me that you don’t want that.”

Hank wasn’t wrong. Gavin was honestly at a stage in his life where he was through with meaningless relationships and casual encounters that weren’t meant to lead anywhere. He wanted something deeper and long-lasting, now.

Almost shyly, when there was a lull in the conversation, he chuckled, “I bought Nines a gift when I was in town the other day…don’t know if he’ll like it, but it comes straight from my heart and my feelings for him.”

“You’ll find that Nines will surprise you,” Hank supplied gently, “just give the guy a chance, Gavin, and as much as you may be scared of ‘what if’, don’t be. Trust me, as an old fart, you eventually come to the realization that life’s waaay too fuckin’ short for ‘what ifs’. Just enjoy whatever you have before it’s gone, Gavin.”

His advice was well received, and Gavin sat back and thought about it quietly.

“I can tell you need some time to digest it all,” Hank announced as he paced around in his home, “so if it’s not too rude, Gavin, I’m gonna have to let you go for the day. I’ve gotta shovel my fuckin’ driveway and sidewalks.”

“Yeesh,” Gavin curled his lips back in a moue of disgust, “sucks to be you!”

“Don’t it?” Hank then snickered devilishly, “unless you wanna head on over to lend a helping hand? I mean, you _did_ mention that you weren’t doin’ much, right?”

“Pfft, you wish.”

“Merry Christmas, Gavin,” Hank said gently and kindly. “Think about what I said, and if Nines is around, tell him I wish him a Merry Christmas, too.”

With a half-smile, Gavin sighed, “You got it.”

When he hung up, Gavin decided to really get thinking on what Hank had told him, and what better way to do so than during a routine exercise? After all, since he’d been cooped up and kept away from work for so long, he felt he needed it before his body packed on some extra pounds.

~0~0~0~0~0

Gavin managed to work up quite the sweat. He’d retreated to the basement after his phone call with Hank, and after dusting the exercise mats and equipment, he deemed them ready for use. Gavin completed at least thirty-five minutes of bench pressing, Russian twists, sit ups, pushups, lunges, and a series of workouts he’d picked up at the police academy with dumbbells and resistance bands. After concluding his session with a jumping rope and some stretches, he made his way up for a shower. Afterwards, he was going to prepare something for lunch.

Too bad he hadn’t been wise enough to purchase a damn turkey when he was out in the villa, but it didn’t matter when he had Nines’ gift.

Around 3 p.m., Gavin finished munching on meat and potatoes, and after he finished doing the dishes, he had a smoke outside in the front yard. It was nearly 4 p.m., and Nines still hadn’t returned.

Fuckin’ android. He probably was being too literal about returning on Christmas Eve, and that more than likely meant he would be back by midnight, Gavin wagered. Well, he figured this gave him time to wrap the gift in the shitty Christmas wrapping paper he’d purchased at a discount price, write up a lousy card to go along with it, and call his mother to wish her a Merry Christmas as he always had done.

When he’d placed the gift back inside his bedroom and carefully hid it, he checked the time quickly. It was nearly four-forty.

Cleaning his room quickly so his mother didn’t think he was a fucking lazy slob more than she likely already did prior to the video call, Gavin opened up the curtains to reveal a clear, but snowy background outside as he sat down and dialed his mother. Gavin was honestly worried when he rang right through twice, and she didn’t pick up.

Heart racing, he tried the third time, but he supposed she’d either placed her phone in a place she couldn’t hear it, reach it, or find it on time, he waited and dialed again…and again…

Where was she?! Was she alright??!

Cutting the call, he tried a few more times, each time hanging up right before her voicemail kicked on.

“Jesus Christ, pick up, mom!!!”

As the third ring went through again, Gavin was about to lose himself to a nervous breakdown, when Carrie finally picked up.

Letting a sigh of pure relief, Gavin cried out, “Mom!! Holy shit, thank god you picked up!!”

Only a loud, pained wheeze and a dry cough was his answer, and once again, Gavin started freaking out. He tried steadying his phone, but his eyes were wildly searching for his mother. Wherever she happened to be, it was somewhat dark. Thankfully, she had the mind to flick on some lights.

The screen turned bright, and Gavin saw her standing next to one of the lamps resting on her night table by her bed. “Hello, Gavin,” she greeted, brushing her short hair back with a hand while steadying the phone with the other. “Merry Christmas…ish.”

Grateful she still had her sense of humor, Gavin felt his heart rate slowing down and regulating. Breathing calmly, now, he stared at his mother, and felt that something was kind of off again…

Eyes widening, he gasped, “Heyyyy, you dyed your hair again? Nice!”

Her hair was as white and as clean as the snow outside, and she smiled as she pet the ends of her short hair. “Yep! Sure did, kiddo. You look great, too, though a bit stressed…”

Rolling his eyes, he sighed, “Mom, leave it alone.”

Holding up her hands, she sighed back, “Alright, alright, but just—”

Something flashed in her hands, and though she was standing between her night table and the curtains, Gavin saw a dark brown, shiny cane in her right hand. Snapping up to attention, he screamed out, “MOM!! WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?!”

Pressing her hand on her heart, she gasped, “Gavin!!! You nearly frightened the piss out of me!!”

Tapping the screen, he roared, “You have a cane!! Did you fall?! Are you hurt?!?!”

Taken aback by the onslaught of questions fired in her way all at once, Carrie toppled down dramatically in her chair by the window, and she threw her cane down onto the floor by her feet. It thudded down loudly, and she pressed one of her hands on her cheeks as her jaw dropped. Inhaling, she gasped, “Holy crap, for a moment there, I thought we’d taken a step back in time when you were ten and throwin’ all sorts of questions at me…” Laughing gently, her eyes almost closed as she reminisced, “Do you remember those days at all, Gavin?? You asked me aaaall sorts of funny things!!” Sitting back, she looked intently at him as she fondly recalled, “Mom, why does it always rain? Mom, why do I have to go to school five days a week instead of three days a week? Mom, why do I have to always hug grandma and grandpa! They’re old, wrinkly, and smelly!!!” Laughing heartily, she slapped her bony knees and wiped her eyes.

However, unlike Carrie, Gavin wasn’t amused; not in the slightest. In fact, he was more concerned, especially given how everything in his gut tugged at him in the ways of raw guilt. What certainly wasn’t helping was the fact that he felt his mother was purposefully steering the conversation away into bubbly, light topics, almost as subterfuge and prevarication to conceal something.

Hanging his head down, he sadly stated, “This is my fuckin’ fault; I should’ve known that as a person with an aging parent, I should’ve taken better care of you.”

A fiery look was instantly upon her face, and Gavin felt reduced to the age of ten. Pointing a thin finger at him, his mother snapped viciously, “If you’re suggesting that I need to be admitted to some senior citizen home, then you’re sorely mistaken, Gavin, and I’ll—”

“NO!!! Mom!! NO!!!” Waving his hands, he cried angrily, “I swear to hell, you never let me talk, and you _never_ listen!!”

“Then what is it you’re saying?!”

Shrieking at her, he suggested, “It’s Christmas Eve, mom! You’re all alone there!!!” Gesturing around her room, a second later, her saw her Great Dane waltz across the screen, pausing as it sniffed at her legs and then leapt up on her bed.

Resisting the urge to shake his head, he spat vehemently, “You should be here in the cottage with Nines and I!!!”

Stubbornly, his mother replied, “That’s not appropriate, Gavin…” Snapping her fingers at the large dog currently occupying her bed, she roared, “Napoleon! OFF! OFF!!!” With a low whine, the large animal bounded off her bed.

Tapping a few fingers on her chin in thought when Gavin glowered at her, Carrie muttered dryly, “Oh stop lookin’ at me like that, Gavin; it’ll do you no good.”

“I can come pick you up and bring you to the cottage, mom,” he offered, “at least until New Year’s Day.”

Sighing a long, strained sigh, Carrie obstinately shook her head in her refusal to accept his offer. “I don’t need your help, Gavin,” she snorted as she folded her tiny hands in her lap, and it made her appear so much thinner and smaller.

Lips curling back, Gavin regarded her coldly as he hissed irritably, “You’re fine with staying there all by yourself?! Set that damn pride and ego of yours aside for once, and admit that you need my help!”

Standing up as she held the phone up close to her angry eyes, Carrie roared mightily, “I. Don’t. Need. Your. Damn. Help! Am I clear, Gavin?!”

Each word she’d barked out at him in such a clipped, cut tone stabbed him repeatedly in the heart. Powerless to say and do anything about it, Gavin was breathing out of his nostrils so hard, that it was the only thing he was able to hear for some time. Evidently, Carrie heard it as well, and her eyes widened as she shook her head in displeasure at him.

“Stop breathing like that, Gavin.”

Timorously, he whispered, “Are you going to promise me that if you’re unwell, you’ll get yourself to a doctor?”

“Gavin, please—”

He exploded, “PROMISE ME!!!”

This time, she’d been prepared for his boisterous screams. All she did in response however was close her eyes, but Gavin saw her jaw and temples clenching as she stiffened angrily. Waiting for a few seconds, she forced herself to remain calm as she then opened her eyes to stare seriously at him. In exhaustion, she whispered, “I promise, but I want for you to also promise me something in return, Gavin.”

Nodding quickly, he garbled out, “Yeah! O-of course! Anything, just name it, mom!” He really wanted her to be safe and well, and he was already making plans to cut his vacation short and get to her…weather permitting, as he’d heard of a wild snowstorm on the way for day after tomorrow. The emergencies of the environment and the posing threat of her health was a great impetus for Gavin to want to flee to her without anything else holding him back.

“Gavin…”

He was brought back to the current topic and conversation, however, and he chewed roughly on his lower lip until he was certain it was bleeding. He didn’t care, however.

“Mom.”

Eyes turning pink, he saw her hands reaching up along the sides of her phone, clearly showing that she was having a difficult time keeping the conversation going, and wanted to disconnect.

“Promise me that you’ll tell Nines what’s happened…promise me, Gavin!”

Jaw hanging open, Gavin wheezed, “Tell him?”

“Yes!” she rasped weakly, “tell him everything he needs to know, and should know!! Do you promise me that you will do this for me, for us??”

Shaking violently from head to toe, Gavin only squeaked, “I…w-w-will…I’ll t-tell him e-everything.”

“Baby, I know this hurts,” Carrie sniffled as she held a hand against her mouth. Voice muffled, she cried out, “I’m just d-doing this to help you both. It has to be done! Have to do it, have to do it!!”

Following in line with her chanting, Gavin whispered, “I’ll tell him…have to tell him, have to tell…”

No one that night knew how much pain he was in, but the moment the front door of the cottage opened, Gavin and his mother both hung up without saying ‘goodnight’, or ‘goodbye’.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you just smile...


	55. Trials and Tribulations

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More shit Nines is wearing: https://www.rivithead.com/mens-shirts/long-sleeve/orcus-shirt.html
> 
> Yes, Nines is now also wearing eyeliner, too.  
FAB.

Nines announced his presence as he called up to the second-level of the cottage, “Reed! It’s me!!”

Shoving his phone under a pillow, Gavin wiped his eyes as he called back in a neutral tone to conceal how upset he was. “Oh! Back already, huh?” Glancing at the time on his phone before he put it to sleep, he nearly wanted to slap himself.

It’d been nearly fifty minutes since he’d ended his call with his mother. Was he losing track of time again?? What had he even been doing right up until Nines returned??

Sulking…but strangely, it was much needed in the way of enantiopathy.

Downstairs, the front door slammed and then locked, followed by what sounded a lot like a perhaps ornery Nines taking off his boots. “You’re upstairs?”

“Y-yeah,” straightening himself as he stood up, Gavin cried, “I’m comin’ down, don’t worry!”

Footsteps slowly made their way around the main floor of the cottage. “Hey, you can take your time, Reed,” Nines announced, “by the way, have you eaten, yet?”

“Yeah, already did, Nines.” Climbing down the stairs, Gavin eventually made his way into the kitchen, where Nines was seated at a stool by one of the counters. It looked like he’d never left; perfectly natural and welcome anywhere he went. Dressed in a new Orcus men’s gothic long sleeve shirt over dark jeans, Nines looked super sleek. His chic shirt possessed features that ran all over faux leather trim and black popper fasteners. With oversize collar and cuff detail, the Orcus shirt also featured faux leather trim epaulettes and appeared to be made from a super soft material. Gavin wanted nothing more than to run his fingers over it, but all things considering, he knew he couldn’t rush to do that…for now.

Respectfully, Gavin lowered his head, but made eye contact for a brief second, just to let Nines know he wasn’t being ignored. “Did you have a good time wherever you were?”

Smirking, Nines answered, “I just rented a single room in the motel near the ice rink; nothing fancy.”

Staring at Nines quickly, Gavin noticed that the android looked a little pale, but it was only due to how dark his hair was, and the fact that he was wearing a slightly thick layer of eyeliner on his lower eyelids…

Gasping at it, Gavin asked, “You’re wearin’ makeup?!”

All teeth as he grinned mischievously, Nines replied, “Just trying something new to go with my look. Do you like it?”

Did he like it?!? Tip of the damn iceberg!! The dark eyeliner only bolstered Nines’ handsome features, causing an interesting, sharp contrast between his pale skin and piercing blue eyes. Everything, every feature was now heightened and illuminated in a flamboyant manner Gavin found truly appealing.

“You look fucking hot, Nines.” The brash, encomium in words had already spilled before his brain caught up to them. Gavin nearly kicked himself in the ass for being so superfluous and loose-lipped, but there was no crying over the spilt milk. As it were, Nines didn’t mind his gaudy words, and he laughed excitedly as he nodded in approval.

“Good, I’m glad you like it.”

Half-heartedly rolling his eyes, Gavin nodded over at the stove and playfully poked Nines in a bit of a tawdry manner. “How about makin’ that good Oolong tea for me again?” He added with mirth in his eyes, “Gotta admit; I’m developing a fondness for the shit.”

Amicably, Nines nodded before affably crooning, “No problem, Reed.”

As Gavin made his way towards a stool to sit down and wait for the tea, Nines reached out with an arm and stopped him. Their eyes met carefully, and Nines leaned in to press a light kiss to Gavin’s lips before standing up and heading towards the stove to prepare the beverage for him. As he moved about in the kitchen like he already knew where everything was, Gavin rubbed the pad of his thumb over the length of his lower lip. It was just something he always did when he was slowly sinking deeper and deeper into his thoughts.

The kettle was now resting on an element of the stove, and Nines turned and grinned at Gavin while the water was boiling slowly within the dark kettle. After an awkward pause, Nines asked, “You sure you don’t mind the eyeliner? I can wash it off if it displeases you.”

Butterflies flapped deep in Gavin’s belly, though he was careful not to portray how nervous he was. “I’m not really against dudes wearin’ makeup, Nines,” he explained carefully, eyes set harmoniously on the android’s the entire time he spoke. “I mean, as long as it matches their getup and they can pull it off, who cares, right?”

Letting out a relieved sigh, Nines affirmed, “Exactly.”

Gavin slowly started wringing his hands together nervously, and Nines watched in a most subtle way. The kettle soon whistled, alerting them to the fact that the water had reached its boiling temperatures. Nines then added in the tea leaves, and he delicately poured the hot water over them. Mixing them gracefully with a spoon, Gavin’s eyes followed the garish motions the spoon made, round and round, circle by circle. He seemed slightly bewitched, but Nines still hadn’t really noticed it.

Setting the spoon down when he was through with using it, his hand closing on the object made it so that the spoon softly clattered against the counter once it made contact with the smooth surface. Shivering in spite of the heat being turned on full blast, Gavin watched as Nines poured the tea into a fancy, crystal glass, and then handed it over to him.

Fingers coiling around it, Gavin whispered, “Thank you.” However, when he made to pull it against his chest, he found that Nines wasn’t letting go of the glass…

“Umm…Nines?” Shyly glancing up at the tall android, he tried yanking his glass of tea, but Nines wasn’t interested in relinquishing his hold on it. Not upset about it, Gavin cleared his throat to speak up, but Nines beat him to it.

Leaning against Gavin, the android stated politely, “Look, I don’t need to poke around where it’s not really my business, but I can sense that something’s really bothering you, Gavin.”

……

Flinching for a second, Gavin quickly covered as he let out a tiny, gallionic yawn and tapped a finger on the rim of his glass. “Nooo,” he stretched his stiff neck muscles from right to left, hearing and feeling his tense bones cracking lightly. “All’s good, Nines. Just gonna drink my tea, and—”

Placing a hand over his shoulder, Nines whispered delicately in his ear, “I didn’t even scan you, and I knew right away that something troubling had to have happened to you.” Moving around to face him, Nines urged, “You should tell me, but only when you feel you’re ready.”

“Nines, I don’t know if—”

A firm kiss on his lips silenced him. That first kiss delved into his darkness, and lit his insides vibrantly. Gavin felt lighter than air, and the way Nines clung to him made him feel as though Nines would be somehow able to exorcise his inner demons, driving them out of their individual cupboards of the past, both possessive and imperfect, and into the white hot laser lights of the present situation.

As they broke away from each other, Nines glanced down at Gavin for what seemed and felt like a breathless eternity. There were plenty of answers to the words that Gavin never spoke in Nines’ eyes. Whimpering when he saw the intense look in his partner’s eyes, Gavin muttered something even he himself didn’t understand.

“I know,” Nines replied softly, pressing their foreheads together gently. When Nines softly brushed his long, smooth fingers over Gavin’s face, Gavin wondered just how it came to be that Nines heard every word that he never said. How could it be that Nines knew that every unspoken word meant precisely what neither of them would ever say or even think. His only answer came when Nines promptly took his mouth again because it was nigh irresistible- self-bitten so garishly red and full, self-sucked so obscenely ripe and raw, a wet, hot heaven so welcoming, so attainable, so sweetly upturned, so hungry just for him, and so conveniently there!

Gavin broke.

Throwing himself into Nines’ chest, he nearly collapsed weakly as sweat and massive bouts of confusion overpowered all five of his senses at once. It was too overbearing; too crazy. Unable to withstand it all, Gavin held dearly onto Nines’ shirt, and he buried his face directly into the android’s powerful sternum. How it came to be that he hadn’t wept was simply beyond him.

Nines wrapped his long limbs around Gavin, and for an eternity, they simply held onto each other and stood rooted to the spot.

Gavin’s tea went cold.

~0~0~0~0~0

The one and only natural fireplace in the entire cottage was on the main level, thankfully, and in the room adjacent to the living room. From what Gavin could remember, the room had served as a ‘gaming room’ of sorts back when his family visited the cottage every winter and summer. Many children in the family would play together ecstatically in the room, and a lot of creativity had once been born and bred in such a lively place. Of course, as the years passed, and as the number of family visits to the cottage grew quite infrequent, the Reeds had remodeled and re-shaped the room into something completely different. Gone were the video gaming systems, gone were the drones stacked and stored on shelves mounted high on the walls, gone were the sports balls and indoor air hockey tables.

Now, all that sat in this room happened to be a large Smart TV mounted on the wall right where the shelves used to be, round sofas lined up next to each other to form a tight-knit circle, baskets storing and holding quilts, blankets, the old fireplace in the front of the room against the soft green colored walls, long, red curtains flowing down past the windows, a few coffee tables in random corners of the room supporting little lamps, as well as a large desk in the back of the room. The floors remained as Gavin remembered, though the carpet had been washed and replaced with a black and white checkered pattern. It smelled clean and fresh, and as he lay himself down on the floor on top of a long, red blanket, Nines sat down next to him.

Tending to the old fireplace for a quick moment, Nines had retrieved some wood down from the wine cellar, and in no time at all, their fire had come to life. Paintings of horses, hounds, and Victorian women were hung up on the walls, and Gavin knew that it was only because it’d always been quite the insane mission to try and gather every member of his family for a proper family portrait. Walls would sooner sprout wings and fly, so it seemed. An old grandfather clock that wasn’t working stood proudly beneath a painting of a puppy sitting next to a fruit basket, and an old, empty fish tank aquarium stood on a dark stand just a few feet away from the grandfather clock.

As the flames of the fire roared mightily, Nines stared at the tank, and he lightly stated, “I wonder when the last time that fish were kept in there happened to be?”

Gavin heard the microwave in the kitchen go off at a propitious moment, and he shrugged. “Honestly, I can’t remember, myself.” Motioning with his thumb back over his shoulder towards the open doorway, he mumbled, “Gonna get my popcorn.”

“And I’ll be here, Reed.”

Gavin soon spread melted butter and salt over his steaming bowl of popcorn, and he made sure to grab his re-heated tea glass before wandering back inside the room. Plopping himself down with some tissues next to Nines, he plucked one popcorn off the top of the little mountain pile in the bowl, and he chewed on it slowly. Soon, his eyes turned vacant, but his mind was wandering as he stared lazily at the dancing, hypnotic flames.

“I keep thinkin’ that I should tell you about what happened to me so long ago,” was his detached statement uttered while Nines drew his knees up against his broad chest and wrapped both hands around his legs. Clasping them together in the front by resting one hand overtop the other, he only offered a small nod of his head. It really seemed as though he wasn’t leaping at the prospect of digging into Gavin’s private life, which the detective was exponentially grateful for. He didn’t like overly pushy people, nor nosy ones, for that matter. Nines wasn’t any of these things, thankfully, and it helped set the mood to a much warmer tone as the room grew warmer when the fire ate up the wood nicely.

Sizzling and crackling, both Gavin and Nines were mesmerized by the powers of the fire. It put on quite the elegant display and dance for them, the shadows of the flames rising above on the walls like snakes being seduced by snake charmers. The lights above dimmed, and then Nines eventually had shut them off before he sat back down next to Gavin. Now significantly warmer-especially after having downed majority of his tea, Gavin got into a more comfortable position. Stretching out his legs before himself, he grabbed at least three pillows from the sofas, and he stacked them up behind his head and against one of the legs of the coffee table behind himself. It was supported, now, and he lay down on his side while munching on his popcorn and staring into the orange-yellow fire.

A few times, Nines had to move the firewood around when it snapped loudly, and as he adjusted in into safer and more secure places, he finally sat back in the same position as before. Gavin eyed him in silence for a while, smiling lightly when Nines got up and paced to the next door’s bathroom with the hot tub to wash the eyeliner off his lower eyelids. Gavin truly thought he looked spectacular with it, as it brought out the blues of his eyes even more so, and made his skin pale. His freckles hardly stood out, now, but either way, Nines was a handsome, beautiful man in Gavin’s opinion.

When Nines joined him on the floor once again, Gavin smirked as he gently tossed a popcorn kernel at Nines. “Glad to see your handsome face without those dark lines under your eyelids.”

Bashfully almost, Nines sighed, “Yeah, my face is pretty clear, now.”

Stretching out his hands, Gavin asked, “Can I see?”

Nines leaned down against him, then, and his eyes were already half-closed while Gavin stroked his cheeks. For a while, the inveterate admirer devoted his silence and gentle touches as a means to the man he held deep affection for.

“They’re still slightly damp,” the detective commented carefully, as if assessing a crime scene. “Damp, and…” leaning up, he playfully sniffed Nines’ cheeks, and then kissed them ever so softly. “Ahh,” he purred out, “I thought I smelled a dash of lavender, there?” Waving a hand before his nose, Gavin coughed, “Kinda strong stuff to use, Nines.”

Lugubriously, Nines softly stated, “Sorry. It was the only facial wash I could find in the bathroom.”

Waving him off, Gavin snorted, “Nah, don’t apologize. But next time,” he rolled and lay on his back, “just ask me, okay?”

“Okay, Reed—”

Playfully flicking another kernel at Nines, Gavin hissed softly, “I think we’re past ‘Reed’ or ‘Detective’, isn’t that fair to say, Nines?”

Catching on, Nines nodded. “Oh yes,” he sighed as he leaned back on his elbows and stretched his long legs out, “we’ve done all sorts of colorful things that warrant the use of referring to one another on a first-name basis.”

Chuckling when the words settled into his brain, Gavin humorously said, “Well, you’ve always been called ‘Nines’, so it’s not like you ever had a last name or anything.”

“Half correct there,” Nines pointed out, “I was called the ‘RK900’ before, remember?”

Freezing up for a moment, Gavin took a quick peek over at Nines as he replied in a clipped manner, “Yeah…no need to remind—”

“And let’s not forget the other array of wonderful nicknames you gave me.” Glaring at him for a moment, Nines held up a finger as he slowly counted off the list. “I recall being dubbed: ‘Tin Freak’, ‘CyberDouche’, ‘Dipshit Connor’s Upgrade’, ‘LimpDick900’…” Shaking his head, then, Nines finished, “Ooooh the wonderful reaches of your imagination, Gavin. It never ceases to amaze me.”

Slightly embarrassed by all the bad things he’d done to Nines, Gavin tried ‘covering up’ for it as he stated, “Well, before you arrived, I was pretty much actin’ the same way to Connor.”

Propping his head up in the palm of his left hand, Nines turned to face Gavin as he lay on his left side. “Oh?” an inquisitive look was upon his face, “do tell.”

Thinking back on it, Gavin explained, “Well, I also picked on Hank, once…see…” Biting his lower lip, he took to moistening it quickly, missing how Nines’ eyes widened upon catching him in such an act. “At the Eden Club, when we were called to investigate a murder of a regular customer there, I was with Chris Miller at the scene, first, and then Hank and Connor strolled right into the private room unannounced.”

Listening intently, Nines’ face remained neutral as the flames cracked louder against the wood. The lights and shadows cast around the android’s handsome face did something internally to Gavin, but before he lost himself, he forced the words through his lips.

“Anyway,” Gavin sighed as he ruffled his own hair to conceal how shitty he still felt for going over this and remembering just what kind of a jackass he’d been a little over two years ago. “I basically said to Chris that we should go because it was starting to stink of booze in the room.” He didn’t need to extrapolate further; Nines already made the connection.

Wincing, Gavin sighed, “Yeah, I know; I was a major ass.”

Drumming his fingers on the carpet perhaps in a bit of a torvous manner, Nines announced gently, “Hank quit drinking, you know.”

“Has he?” This bit of news left Gavin feeling beyond tosticated.

“Mhm. I’m actually growing to admire Hank a lot these days,” Nines stated his opinion vociferously as he surveyed the room before his eyes landed back on Gavin. “It seems that regardless of age, you humans are always finding new ways of surprising me.”

On the edge of playfulness and teasing, Gavin looked at Nines’ chin as he asked, “And what about me? Have I done many things to surprise you?” He nearly cried out in shock when he felt a few of Nines’ fingers caressing his cheeks softly. It was such a tender, caring move, that it rendered Gavin petrified and frozen, though not because of fear or a negative reaction stirring within himself. No, on the contrary, this felt nice.

Refraining from leaning into Nines like one of his cats always had done whenever he stroked their face, Gavin’s eyes fluttered shut for a moment before he caught Nines’ gaminesque gaze and met it equally. Their eyes searched one another for something unknown and impossible to decipher through any means of human language alone. No, this had to be felt, and it could only be felt by two people who’d experienced many ‘firsts’ together and had gone through major changes in their lives.

Still quiet, Nines reached forward with his left hand, and as he removed it from beneath his head, he lay it lazily over Gavin’s hair atop his head. Cradling the other man’s skull, Nines used his right hand to cup Gavin’s chin, and he very gently tilted the detective’s head back before leaning over him and sealing their lips together. If Gavin had been waiting for an answer to his previous question, it would’ve been foolish on his part.

No verbal answer came. Instead, all he had was the sensation of Nines’ lips crushed against his before pulling back, the touch now so soft that Gavin thought he might’ve been imagining it. Not wanting to allow the chance to slip beyond reach, Gavin pressed himself impossibly closer to Nines, who responded willingly, their kiss now beginning to come to life just as much as the fire stewing in the fireplace.

Nines didn’t want to stop, so he didn’t. Deeply kissing Gavin over and over again, he then took to flicking his tongue out to cherish his partner’s slightly parted lips. Taken away by what he tasted vaguely there on Nines, Gavin moaned loudly and arched his back, which helped Nines lean over him, and allowed his tongue to be sucked gently into the android’s mouth. Having little to no experience of the sort with kissing men mattered not, for it seemed that kissing Nines came naturally to Gavin, and always had since their first kiss long ago.

Apparently, for Nines, their solitary union was perhaps something that needed to be escalated. The android suddenly became rather aggressive. Tugging and clawing at Gavin’s clothes, Nines communicated that he wildly and desperately wanted them ripped from the detective’s heated body, no attention spared for them. For Nines, all that mattered was that they were with each other, touching, feeling, memorizing and storing every second of it away safely. It would be their first time, and their last.

Their searing hot kisses became almost rough, and needy. Hands began wandering and caressing places that ignited passionate and deep groans from both their throats. Seconds ticked by, and any semblances of doubts and hesitation had been totally obliterated. Instinctively, Nines’ hand encircled Gavin’s cock over his jeans. Feeling how his partner’s slightly erect cock responded to his touches so delightfully, Nines felt himself growing just as thick. Encouraged, he stroked Gavin hurriedly, and began unzipping his jeans.

With a groan, Gavin pressed both his hands in the center of Nines’ sternum, and he pushed the android off himself. The other man pulled his tongue from the maddening wet heat of Gavin’s mouth, and almost angrily, he hissed, “What’s wrong?”

Sitting up a little, Gavin trembled as he whispered, “Look, before we lose ourselves here, I n-need to say something to you…it’s a-about my past, Nines.” Worried that the android was somehow going to reject him or push him away, Gavin started to explain himself, but Nines held up a hand and interrupted him.

Shaking his head, he calmly spoke out, “This is important, and I’m going to listen to you. Don’t you be scared, and don’t you hide anything from me. I’ll be by your side even if it takes all night.”

Gavin was again trembling, but it wasn’t out of fear, this time. He smiled warmly at Nines, and he could only say: “Thank you.”

“Don’t thank me; talk to me, Gavin.”

He would. He would channel his experiences in an effable way to tell Nines everything. Though not because it was the right thing to do, not because he had to do it, and certainly not because his mother advised for him to do it. He was going through with this because he knew he loved Nines.

~0~0~0~0~0

_He never knew why it was always so important to be polite to everyone. There were simply some_ _inharmonious, unpleasant people he knew he didn’t like, and he didn’t want to get to know them and chat with them if he didn’t like them. But his father said it was ‘proper’ and the right thing to do...especially today. Today, Gavin was going to meet two special people his father was going to be doing a lot of business with, and he had to dress his best, look his best, and act his best. These people deserved the best, as they were the ones responsible for his father bringing home a lot of money and being able to take them on face trips and to eat fancy food. _

_It was a fine, cold morning during the end of the first week of January, and the morning had started off well, but gradually turned into his worst nightmare. _

_His mother had left for a job interview this morning, and he was truly happy for her. She’d taken care of him a lot since he was very small, and ever since Gavin could remember, she never had time for herself. His mother had been a full-time mom, and his father often told him that she was unhappy. Sometimes, Gavin blamed himself for it, but after his father sternly told him that it wasn’t his fault, he remembered feeling a little better about it. Still, he tried being the best son to his parents, especially to his mother. Gavin always cleaned up after himself, learned to tidy up the house regularly, did his own homework on time and by himself, and he often did the dishes and looked for extra things to do just to help his mother out. _

_Apparently, she didn’t have to work, as his father always had told her that he made enough money now with the contract he’d recently signed. But Gavin’s mother said she’d wanted to do something to be productive. Now that Gavin was also getting older and taking it upon himself to do a lot more at home, Carrie felt a lot more comfortable with looking for jobs. She’d been successful enough to land her first interview in years, and she was very nervous and excited. Respectfully, Gavin got out of her way, but his father had picked him up on Friday afternoon earlier than usual. He remembered it well because he’d been called down to the principal’s office during recess after a teacher came to find him. _

_After meeting up with his father, they hurried through the streets in quite the hurry. Gavin was hungry, but his father promised him that he would reward him with a burger or a pizza if he behaved himself and was nice. Of course, he inquired why he had to be nice, and his father told him why. _

_“You can talk to the little boy; he’s only three years younger than you, but talk to him and I’ll be done before you know it.” _

_They parked in a huge parking lot reserved for major corporations and fancy companies, each of them displaying their signs on billboards as Gavin and his father paced through the parking lot towards the entrance. The building was a commercial building rented and leased for these major corporations, and at least five or six of them all shared the same building but operated on different levels. Inside, everything was new, clean, smelled nice, and there were a lot of machines and computers...apparently, this company was going to be even more successful in the next few years. _

_He stood next to his father on the elevator, and it seemed as if they would never reach the top. At his age, he was very impatient. Tugging at his tie, he tried not to fidget too much, especially when his father glowered at him and pushed his hands away from his neck so he would stop playing with it. He was still nervous, but he reminded himself that this was good for them all, and his mother and father would be happier. _

_Gavin was happier with this knowledge, too. _

_The elevator stopped moving, and the doors finally opened. Trying not to hide behind his father like a five-year-old, Gavin stared up when he saw bright red high heeled feet a few inches in front of himself. Standing next to the high heels were black-tipped running shoes with glowing and flashing bright green soles. _

_Immediately, his father cried out to the woman, and Gavin remembered he had to be nice, and be polite. As he looked up at her, he was unable to stop the little frown from appearing onto his face. _

_He knew this woman... _

_Weeks went by after his father’s previous meeting, and as time flew by, Gavin noticed that his father was spending more and more time on the phone. He hardly saw much of his father, but his mother always told him that his father was working, so he had to stay out of his way. The youngster obeyed, but he found it impossible to do so when every weekend when he was supposed to be out with his father doing something fun, the older Reed would take him to meet with the woman and the young boy Gavin found out was her son. _

_Gavin was ten, and this boy was seven, and although they’d met once before, Gavin still hadn’t learned his name. His father encouraged them to get along when for the first time, he drove with Gavin to the woman’s large house. Gavin followed her son up into his bedroom, and the two boys awkwardly stood in front of each other. Taking all of half a minute to study the large room, Gavin felt a little jealous of this seven-year-old who had more games, toys, and cooler phones than he did. _

_“What’s your name?” _

_The boy didn’t answer him; he was shy, and he kept staring down at the shiny floors while chewing on his lower lip. _

_Trying again, Gavin was polite, but he didn’t smile as he introduced himself. “I’m Gavin!” _

_Slowly, the younger boy stared up at him, and his eyes were as cold and pale as his mother’s. He pushed his longer black hair over his shoulders, and he meekly said, “I’m Elijah.” _

_They didn’t get along, and by the time Gavin saw Elijah for the second time, he nearly threw his own basketball at him. They were playing outside in Elijah’s magnificent basketball court, and next to that was a tennis court. While Gavin’s father had tea and cake with Elijah’s mother inside their super large fancy house, Gavin was trying to entertain himself and Elijah. Both boys failed miserably in such a task, as they learned that they were completely different individuals with different personalities. _

_Elijah didn’t laugh at any of the jokes Gavin shared with him, and he instead took to prattling on and on about how magnificent and incredible his house was, and just how much money his parents had spent on it. Gavin already decided he’d had enough of this boy, but when he tried politely to shoot a few of his own hoops, Elijah kept rudely stopping him and getting in his way. _

_“You’re standing too close!” He snapped as he yanked back on Gavin’s dress shirt, “If you can’t stand behind the line, then don’t bother because it’s like cheating!!” _

_“I’m not cheating!!” _

_“Just let the ball go!!” _

_“NO!!” _

_“DO IT!” _

_“NOOO!!!”_

_And before he knew it, his anger had gotten the better of himself._

_Screaming at Elijah, he asked not to be touched, and when Elijah leapt at him, that was when Gavin spun around on his heels, and he flung the ball as hard as he could at Elijah. It slammed directly into the shorter boy’s chin, and he accidentally bit his own tongue violently while he lost his balance and knocked the back of his skull into the trunk of a tree. _

_Needless to say, in less than a few seconds, Elijah’s loud, piercing cries drew the attention of his own mother and Gavin’s father out into the backyard. Gavin received quite the verbal lashing from his father, and he was grounded for almost three whole days after the incident. _

_He didn’t care; he’d already decided in his mind that he hated Elijah and his mother. They thought they were so much better than everyone else, and Gavin didn’t need a ‘friend’ like that. He wasn’t going to be Elijah’s friend at all. _

_Life at home for the young boy was troubling from that point on. While his mother was happy she was working part-time as a seasonal instructor for various programs in the community college they lived close to, something wasn’t ‘right’ about Gavin’s father. He claimed to always be working, but he went out…a lot…at nights. Dressed in fancy suits, he soon came home one day with a new haircut, and he spent a lot of money buying expensive colognes and deodorants. It was very weird, but at his age, his innocence just told him that this was all a part of how his father worked and made lots of money to support them all. _

_….._

_Until one night, Gavin woke up hearing noises…_

_He was already a bit of a light sleeper at his age, so when his ears captured the sounds of laughter, he sat up in bed, and then bolted from his room and down the hall. The light in his parents’ bedroom was off, strangely. But why was he hearing laughter?! _

_….._

_He heard it again, and as he ‘woke up’ more, he realized it was his father laughing away in his office…was he laughing with his mother??? Straining his ears, Gavin heard that his father was indeed laughing, but he wasn’t laughing and speaking with Gavin’s mother. _

_Tiptoeing towards his father’s office, Gavin saw that the lights were on and beaming beneath the door. Yes, now he could hear his father chatting, and he was working hard at keeping his voice hushed and low…_

_“I miss you too…I know…hey, hey, shh…” _

_Gavin inhaled sharply upon hearing those words. Who did his father miss?! His mother was home! She was just asleep in her room!! Deciding he wanted to tell his father this in case he was so tired and forgot where Gavin’s mother was, the young boy pushed through. Knocking once quickly only out of habit, he heard his father’s chair scraping along the wooden floorboards. _

_“Shoot,” he agnized, “I think my son’s up. I’ll talk to you later.” _

_“Dad?”_

_Sitting up quickly, his father shoved his phone into one of his desk drawers. “Gavin? What’s wrong, buddy?”_

_Eyeing the desk, Gavin asked weakly, “Why aren’t you talking to mom?” _

_While he gazed around the clean, organized office, he saw that his mother wasn’t in the room at all. Worried, he asked his father quickly, “Is mom okay?”_

_His father’s eyes twitched, but he recovered quickly as he smiled and stood swiftly to pick Gavin up into his arms. “She’s fine, kiddo,” he sighed a deep sigh as he turned off his desk lights and padded over towards the door. “Let’s go back to bed, Gavin.”_

_“Okay, dad.” He trusted his father’s words, so he lay his head down on his father’s chest, closed his eyes, and thought nothing else of it._

_He was sitting in Elijah’s room again one Saturday morning. While his mother went out grocery shopping, Gavin’s father had yanked him out of bed bright and early. After preparing him breakfast, he placed Gavin in the family vehicle, and he sped off towards Elijah’s home again. _

_Stomach churning in disgust and anger, Gavin was seething as he snapped, “I’m bored.” _

_Elijah’s legs were swinging back and forth, up and down as he sat on the edge of his bed while Gavin sat on a black chair by his desk. It was super cold outside, and they couldn’t go out to play. There were bandages still pressed over Elijah’s lips where the basketball had bashed into his face violently. His pale skin there was still bruised deep purple, but Gavin felt he couldn’t regret what had happened. _

_Wisely, Elijah picked up on the cues, and he hissed, “Aren’t you going to say sorry for hurting me?”_

_Shaking his head, Gavin answered, “No. I only apologize to people I like.”_

_With a stern glare that promised far more maturity than becoming of his own age, Elijah’s face seemed to convey that the feelings were mutual. _

_Staring around the room, Gavin asked, “Where’s your dad?”_

_“Why do you care?” Elijah fired back quickly. _

_Resorting to acting like a bit of a bully due to his age and taller height, Gavin snorted, “Because I don’t think you have one.”_

_That seemed to sting the other young boy beyond imagination. His dark eyebrows furrowed, and he turned away while softly sniffling. _

_Wanting to poke at him more, Gavin laughed coldly, “See! I was right! You have no dad!!”_

_Shrugging, Elijah cried, “So what? My parents are divorced!”_

_“Loser,” Gavin retorted viciously, eyes squinting angrily, “you’re a loser.”_

_Not even affected by this despite his younger age, Elijah held a very serious look on his face, and it made Gavin calm down significantly. He had never seen such a look on some young kid’s face like this, and he had no idea how to react to it but gape._

_And then, Elijah whispered, “Don’t be so surprised; your parents may get divorced one day, too.”_

_They had to leave early that day; Gavin punched Elijah many, many times directly in the nose. He’d never felt so angry before in his entire young life, and it was all Elijah’s fault. _

_Gavin’s father didn’t take him to see Elijah anymore, but when they arrived home, he asked Gavin not to discuss Elijah or his mother with Gavin’s own mother. At the time, Gavin had been more than pleased to oblige; he hated them both, and there was no way he was going to talk about them, ever. _

_Days flew by faster in blurbs and colors. Spring slowly eased in, and Gavin had a bit of a good time during March break. He was happy not to be going to school, but he wasn’t happy with how often his father wasn’t home. He hardly saw much of his father, and in turn, that made his mother angrier and angrier. Most days, she locked herself in her room to study for her PhD exams, but the days she didn’t have class or had to study, she would lash out at Gavin. He didn’t understand why she was doing this to him. He had always been a good boy and cleaned up after himself, but she yelled at him no matter what. _

_After trying to call his father begging him to come home, Gavin fell asleep one late afternoon in front of the TV while his mom went out to see her friends. He was used to staying all by himself; he often microwaved his supper and played some video games until he fell asleep. That had happened, but he was awakened by his father’s large warm hands picking him up off the sofa. _

_“Dad?”_

_“Shh, Gavin,” shutting off the TV, his father greeted him with a warm smile as he offered, “I’m going out again, but if you want, you can come for a ride!”_

_Excited to just be out of the house, Gavin was already speeding towards the front door. _

_Thankfully, they parked in front of Starbucks, and it was almost dark by the time Gavin’s father parked the car. Hand already on the door handle to pry it open, Gavin was eager to get out, when his father cried out, “No! Gavin!! You stay in the car!”_

_“But dad—”_

_“I won’t be long, I promise!”_

_He was left all alone in the vehicle, but he supposed that if he stayed behind and obeyed, he would be rewarded. After all, that was what good kids did for their parents._

_….._

_But his father had been gone for too long…_

_Bored out of his mind, Gavin played with the radio, flipped through some magazines in the back of the car beneath the seats, and then took a small nap. When he woke up, his father still hadn’t returned…_

_Worried, Gavin tried staring into the brumous windows of the Starbucks, but from where the vehicle was parked, he just couldn’t see much. He had to exit the car. _

_The night air was still rather chilly this time of year, and even though he had a spring jacket on, he was cold. Now, desperately trying to worm his way inside, Gavin went in through the doors of the shop, and he felt heat and the smell of fresh coffee hit his nose. _

_Soft music was playing on the radio inside, and Gavin paused to listen to it. _

_You’re just too good to be true,_

_I can’t take my eyes off of you,_

_You’d be like heaven to touch,_

_I wanna hold you so much…_

_This song…this song had been playing before when his parents were happily dancing to it!!! _

_Heart beating quickly, Gavin pushed past a few people still bustling inside the shop, and he searched all around for his father. Not too many people were sitting inside, thankfully, and as he turned around a few booths, he finally saw the top of his father’s dark mop of hair. _

_At long last love has arrived,_

_And I thank God I’m alive,_

_You’re just too good to be true,_

_Can’t take my eyes off of you…_

_“Dad?? Dad?? I wanna go home! I’m bored—”_

_His heart almost stopped beating in his chest when he approached the booth. His father had been sitting next to another woman, and he had his arms wrapped around her body tightly. She was pulled up close against him, and they were kissing gently. _

_No…_

_“Dad…”_

_The woman gasped, and as she leapt away from Gavin’s father, Gavin nearly fell back in fear. _

_“Dad?!?” _

_“Gavin!!” _

_He knew this woman…why did it have to be her?! Why?!?! WHY?? _

_Elijah Kamski’s mother was blushing furiously as she curled her loose hair strands and tucked them behind her ears. Her face was quite red, and she licked her lips while Gavin’s father blushed just as deeply as she had._

_I love you baby and if it’s quite all right,_

_I need you baby to warm the lonely nights,_

_I love you baby trust in me when I say…_

_“Gavin! Gavin!!” _

_Tears flowed freely, and as much as he hated crying in front of anyone, he was unable to stop himself. _

_How could his father do this…how…_

_“Gavin,” his father’s voice struck his ears like a gun firing off in the dark night, and the young boy was compelled to look up in spite of not wanting to ever see his father again. _

_His lips were swollen, and that woman’s lipstick was all over his neck, even…_

_“Gavin,” his eyes grew dark and very serious, just like Elijah’s had previously. This was how he knew this was now all real, and it was happening to him just as Elijah said it would._

_“You know I’ve always loved your mother, don’t you, Gavin?”_

* * *

What a long chapter to squeeze out, but it's the best I could do as I go back to trying to meet deadlines for work, attend new training workshops and get a new car hopefully. Stress, I hate thee.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Too much happened in this chapter, but I suppose it should answer a lot of questions in regards to Gavin's perturbed and perplexed behavior.


	56. The Healing Touch

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The chapter everyone's been waiting for since the beginning.  
....  
Aka Gavin and Nines banging for the first time.

Nines remained silent as ever, his face not at all portraying a single emotion. Gavin preferred it this way; it saved him from weeping his eyes out. As he’d regaled his unpleasant experiences to Nines, the android regarded him with cold, unreadable eyes, but Gavin didn’t feel that Nines was angry with him or troubled by what he’d said. If anything, Nines seemed to want to remain as neutral as possible. He wasn’t judging anyone, and he wasn’t saying anything just yet. There existed not a shred of clamancy for Gavin to open up more than he had, which suited the exhausted human just fine.

Gavin found this aspect of Nines so refreshing, and less than tantalizing not to have someone leaping to any conclusions.

Still, he felt rather querulous, and although he’d expurgated a lot of his dark past, he still wasn’t left feeling relieved. In fact, he felt his hatred for Elijah and Ella Kamski being renewed, and this was going to get worse. Already able to previse what was likely going to happen due to his anger, Gavin lay on his side as he snorted, “Yeah, I know; my whole family’s fucked up, right?”

The fire had grown in strength and intensity, and it was practically smothering a nettlesome Gavin, now. He loved the heat, but it was no match for how badly he was burning from the inside now that Nines had heard everything that had gone wrong in his life. Every single abditive detail and aspect was now as open as a book, and Gavin only wanted that book to be tossed into the deepest, darkest pit on Earth, and then forever sealed down below where no one else could find it, ever. He’d opened the Pandora’s Box, but he found that when it came to Nines, there wasn’t a necessary, inevitable fear associated with opening such a deep, dark box in the first place. Nines wasn’t like everyone in his life had been. Nines was trustworthy, loyal, and true to Hank’s words, he was a good, honorable man indeed. Nines’ actions had always elicited an abundance of elation and peace within Gavin. He knew he could look at his android partner and never expect to see a mask there concealing how Nines truly felt. Nines was open and quite forthcoming, and he didn’t appear to want to put on a ‘show’ for anyone, for that matter.

Whatever people saw from Nines was often what they were going to get, and this helped Gavin feel safe and secure around Nines. As wonderful and funny as his friends in the past were, they were only hanging around Gavin for a momentary gain, the detective found that out cleverly. When he was younger, he’d been a bit slower to pick up on the cues, but he did eventually happen to discover a pattern in the fact that whenever he was in trouble or going through something quite disastrous and heavy, all his friends ‘disappeared’. People who’d once sworn to him that they had his back no matter what were practically fleeing town and disassociating from him when he needed their opinions and support the most. Those friends only served to incapacitate his confidence and personal agency.

_With friends like these, who needs enemies?_

But as he tried convincing himself that he was better off alone and that he didn’t need anyone in his life, he found that as he grew older, that was far from the truth. He needed someone just like anyone else in the world did. Gavin wanted someone at his side with whom he could share his secrets, unleash his demons, and display weakness in front of while not feeling badly about it afterwards. Pretending nothing hurt and acting as though he was unbreakable truly was grating and had worn him out, especially over the last two years. He knew he wasn’t twenty anymore, and emotionally, he’d been through far too much.

It was time to let it all go.

Shyly breaking his gaze from Nines’, Gavin apologetically rasped, “Sorry, I didn’t mean to take my anger out on you, but I feel like shit because it…it’s like…” Deflating, he ground out as his eyes slowly closed on their own accord, “I feel like it’s my fault, because from that day on, my dad kept seein’ her, but he told me never to tell my mom about it.”

A deep scowl marred Nines’ features, and before Gavin could ramble on, the dour android inched himself closer to Gavin. Their bodies were now practically meshed together, and as Gavin glanced nervously over at his partner, he found he was met with quite the heated expression.

Recoiling from it fearfully, Gavin broke the eye contact as he growled, “What???”   
Sneering, Nines hissed sourly, “That’s the weakest thing to do right now for yourself, Gavin.”

Since he’d spoken in such a ‘riddle’, Gavin inquired, “What do you mean?”

“Blaming yourself.”

Sighing tiredly, Gavin groaned as he rubbed his eyes, “Nines, I’ve heard this shit from my therapist plenty of times, and I don’t need to hear it from you, too.”

Slapping his hands down from his face, Nines continued to glare at him, head tilted stiffly before he snapped shortly, “So you’re going to continue berating and bludgeoning yourself with this, then?” Huffing, he commented, “What a shitty thing to do.”

Abruptly, Gavin rolled up onto his knees, and he cried out, “Well, it _was_ my fuckin’ fault!! I should’ve told her that their affair went on for so long, but I kept my damn mouth shut like a fuckin’ coward!!” Eyes watering-though he could’ve sworn to his grave that it was from the smoke coming from the fireplace, he protested miserably, “A good son would’ve just told his mother the truth instead of hiding away like a rat!!”

As he held his clenched fists up to his face and lightly beat himself in the forehead with them, Nines tried holding him down using minimal force. Resisting at first, Gavin wheezed under his breath, almost sounding like a struck child.

“He said it would be our ‘special secret’…I let him manipulate me like a total dipshit.” Again, he took to pounding away on his forehead, as if that would somehow make the pain he felt deeper inside go away.

Nines reached out with both his hands and prevented him from repeating that motion harder this time. “Stop that,” he gently soothed Gavin with his voice, first, and then gradually with his fingers as he massaged and rubbed Gavin’s hands and skin. “You don’t need to hurt yourself anymore, Gavin.”

Sagacious words. The sapient, aeolistic android had meant this in both ways; for Gavin to cease his own physical torment, as well as his psychologically and emotionally based ones. The effect it had on Gavin was moving; knowing he wasn’t being put through castigation, the human ceased fidgeting. Finally comporting himself in a much calmer demeanor, he remained breathing steadily while nodding at Nines in gratitude.

Gently scratching his forehead when his hair fell down messily over it, Gavin wheezed in agony, “It’s not that I’m ungrateful for what you’ve done for me, but my mind’s not gonna change on this, no matter what you say, Nines.”

Cocking his head, Nines asked incredulously, “You’re still persisting with that?”

Sniffling pathetically, Gavin snapped glumly at him, “I had no guts back then, and I have zero right now. Don’t make excuses for me!”

“So your father silenced you forcefully, then?”

Glancing at Nines briefly, a quick, decadent frown eased itself onto Gavin’s face. “No! I mean,” he looked down at his knees as he said, “not exactly! He just always had his ways of keeping me quiet about it.” Knowing that Nines would want to hear about these things in greater specificity, he quickly went through them. “He would take me out a lot to places I wanted to go, he bought me a lot of things, and he would always just repeat over and over to me that he was just friends with Ella Kamski.”

And like a fool, he’d believed it.

Winded, Gavin sat back when his knees and legs grew numb and tingled. “I guess I was too young and too stupid, but I believed his words because I was—”

“Because you saw the goodness in him, Gavin.”

Not minding the minor, impavid interruption, Gavin curiously asked, “What do you mean?”

As he hung his head down to meet Gavin’s, their foreheads gently rubbed. Nines’ messily cut black hair tickled his forehead, and Gavin couldn’t help but emit a small chuckle as he wedged his hand between their heads and scratched at his skin feverishly.

Closing his eyes, a small smile grew starting from the corners of Nines’ mouth, until it rose like the powerful wave of an ocean. “You don’t really see just how much value you have in the lives of others as well as yourself, do you?”

Out of breath even though he hadn’t moved, Gavin whispered, “I guess I don’t.”

“I can tell that you loved your father just as much as you loved your mother; your devotion to them both is what’s causing you so much pain and torment.” Fingers softly grazing the back of his skull and weaving up to the top of his head, Nines sighed, “This is a part of being human; to have, to want, to protect, and to persevere. You did nothing wrong.”

_Nothing. _

“Do you hear me, Gavin? You are innocent.”

A dreamy look crossed Gavin’s face as he replied, “I know, Nines; I’ll believe anything you tell me, because it’s all coming from you.”

Breath hitching, Nines wheezed, “Gavin, you need to—”

There was an interruption. Gavin gripped Nines’ arms and nestled his head in the crook of Nines’ neck, deeply inhaling his scent, basking in his caliginous warmth. With Gavin so close, Nines couldn’t help but do the same. He steadied his arms, closed his eyes, and found that Gavin’s unique, spicy scent had an alarmingly calming effect on him. Suddenly, Nines then panicked. He wanted to push Gavin away, but his body wouldn’t listen to reason. His arms dropped to his sides and became limp under Gavin’s tight, calorifacient grasp. If he hadn’t already, Nines was losing the battle.

It didn’t matter whether Gavin was going to reject him anymore; for now, he just wanted to be with the human for as long as he could.

As he was granted his only wish, Nines couldn’t help but wonder why Gavin’s fingers were plucking at his clothes so desperately. Moving back away from Gavin, Nines peered down at his hands, and he whispered, “Gavin? What are you doing?”

The flames crackled and burned hotly, and it was no match for the look Gavin was giving Nines. Whatever was there, it didn’t do much to abirritate the red, halitous, burning lust coiling in Nines’ mind.

Gavin appeared to catch onto that, and he nuzzled his nose against the android’s long neck. With a purr, he ground his lips against the human skin. “I’m initiating it,” he answered, “what else?”

Catching on quickly, Nines hissed, “Gavin, I don’t think that now is the right time and place for that.” He said so, but he made no move to stop and accoy Gavin while he divested him of all his clothes piece by piece. His shirt was the first to go. Gavin forced Nines to sit down, then he worked on his pants while exchanging fervent kisses and frequent caresses. Gavin’s hands moved from Nines’ neck to begin a clash with the many buttons on Nines’ jeans. He hadn’t caught how many buckles and buttons there were, and as he yanked on some of them, he snapped impatiently, “Damn your clothes, Nines!”

Truly, the looks Nines granted him upon observing his sheer frustration were quite aeviternal and afflated.

When it clicked that the buttons were going to take some time to undo, Nines huffed, “Fuck this,” and pulled apart his undershirt and belt. It all clattered down to the floor violently and loudly, and Nines tossed them all aside. Along the way, reason seemed to be slamming into him, and as he struggled, his LED light turned red. Gavin was busied with kissing and nibbling along his neck, but Nines still rationally bit out, “Gavin, m-maybe we should slow down…”

“Too,” kiss, “late,” kiss, “for,” kiss, “that,” kiss, “Nines,” Gavin growled ardently between kisses which he littered up and down the column of Nines’ long neck. The gentle touches served well enough as fuel for the burning accretion of wanton need and desire in both men.

Luckily, as his lips wandered Nines’ partly clothed body, Nines hurried to undo all the bothersome buttons. Nines then held still while Gavin pried off his own shirt and then pulled at the hem of his partner’s pants. Those were gone within a matter of seconds and standing tall and proud was Nines’ dominant sized cock. Gavin gaped at it through the black briefs while Nines leaned in and kissed Gavin’s forehead.

Slowly and carefully, Gavin’s hands fastened onto Nines’ briefs, pulled and then slipped them all the way off. Nines then carefully speculated on what to do next while Gavin tried to settle himself down.

Staring into the flames, Nines whispered, “Don’t you think this should be moved into the bedroom, Gavin?”

Wetting his lips playfully, Gavin replied, “Well…I can’t say I’ve ever had sex near a fireplace before on Christmas Eve.”

“Christmas day, technically,” Nines corrected, “it’s way past midnight.”

Boldly, Gavin raised himself up on his knees, and he grabbed at Nines’ bare ass. Suddenly, he was thrown down to the carpet and blankets, though it wasn’t in a violent manner. Gavin looked up and instantly, their positions were switched. Nines leaned on top of him, while Gavin was flat on his back, still trying to figure out what had just happened.

Jaw quivering, he spat nervously when he felt vagant hands groping the globes of flesh on his behind. It made him go red in the face, and he screamed, “Nines!! You bastard!!”

Sitting up, Nines raised his eyebrows, and placed his palms on his strong knees. “Oh?” he chided mildly, “think you can do me, then? Hmm…” Leaning back, he whispered seductively, “Go ahead then, Gavin.”

Blushing while he glared ahead, Gavin had already given up. He stared at Nines’ tattoo instead of at his cock, fearful that if he did, he would lose control over himself.

Grinning in complacency, Nines leaned over him. As their bodies connected, Gavin blushed when Nines pressed his arousal against Gavin’s. The human completely forgot about what had just happened a moment before as the feeling of carnal pleasure took him by storm. He bucked his hips involuntarily, and when he’d been rewarded with a deep, possessive growl, Gavin ground his hips against Nines’. The two men were moaning in a matter of seconds. Hurriedly, Nines remembered that Gavin was still mostly clothed, and in no time at all, he yanked off Gavin’s undershirt and pants. Tossing them over one of the circular sofas behind them, Nines had nearly rolled Gavin’s underwear off, when he glanced into Gavin’s lust-filled eyes.

“Wh-what’re you waiting for?” Gavin softly asked, nudging him mildly.

Shaking his head, Nines muttered, “We’re not prepared for this…”

Moments later, Gavin was sitting up. He pushed his own underwear off when he knew Nines wasn’t going to do it for him. Now stark naked as Nines was, he took his time while holding Nines against himself to just stare at his nude body. Nines was built perfectly; his stomach was perfectly chiseled and flat, the abs rising and sticking out like every other male model’s. Gavin didn’t think he could ever be this attracted to a member of his own sex before, but he was glad it was Nines.

Hungrily, the android tried thrusting forwards. With confidence, Gavin was gripping their cocks and fisting them in time with Nines’ thrusts. Hissing, Gavin held on tightly to Nines and rolled his head back, delving deep into the candescent pleasure that this was all creating for him.

Nines rolled over the shorter male, and he gently pushed Gavin back down. Kissing Gavin like a mad man, Nines took the lead, and soon, their tongues did what they did best; they tasted and fondled each other. All the while, Nines’ strong hips continued to buck against Gavin’s, causing increased friction between their swollen cocks. Uncontrollably, Gavin’s nails were then digging into Nines’ back as the beyond aroused male held his lover as close to his body and as tightly as possible. His legs, which were also fastened around Nines, cradled the android and cushioned his thrusts. Upon reaching the end, Nines took Gavin’s hand and gently removed it from around his pulsating cock. With a frustrated growl aimed at his own callow motions, Gavin fought back to grip Nines again. He fisted him as Nines gave up and returned the favor.

Gavin gasped and grunted as he felt his body preparing for release. Parts of himself were stiffening, but others were opening up. He bit onto his lower lip and his eyes shut tightly. He didn’t know how much longer he would last, but he didn’t want Nines to stop touching him in ways he’d been aching for.

But it was going to end too soon…

Sensing this in equal amounts of frustration, Nines let him go entirely and propped himself up on the palms of both his hands as he loomed over Gavin.

“Noooo!” Gavin panted out in sheer frustration, his face scrunched up as he felt his erection slowly subsiding, “wh-why d-did you do that?!”

Blinking once at him, Nines almost timorously responded, “Umm, there’s nothing we can really do, Gavin…”

“What’re you talkin’ about—”

Playfully tapping the tip of his nose, Nines smirked as he completed his sentence. “No condoms, no lube? Nothing to do, really.”

A roar of sheer frustration broke through the warm, peaceful night. Strangely, Nines chuckled at it before kissing Gavin’s nose.

Grinding his teeth together, Gavin wrenched his head away from Nines as he snapped while blushing deeply, “Nines! Don’t be dumb! One of the bathrooms has condoms and shit!” He hated admitting this, but he knew it only because he’d brought a lot of girlfriends to the cottage during summer and winter, and a few of his older cousins had also been with their boyfriends and girlfriends as well.

“Oh,” Nines purred before licking his scar gently, “good to know. Want me to—”

Covering his face with his hands, Gavin maundered brokenly, “Yes, can you get them?”

There was no reply verbally; Nines got up at once and disappeared into the main floor bathroom, first. A few moments later, Gavin heard him running up the stairs, and as he did, the nervous detective turned towards the fireplace, and began straightening out their ‘bed’. Making sure the sheets and blankets were flat, he pushed aside anything else that would get in their way. Heart racing a mile a minute, he again covered his face with his hands as a thought slammed into him at full force.

He was going to have sex with a man tonight. For the first time in his entire life, Gavin Reed was going to have sex with a _man_, and he was actually both looking forward to it, and also wanting to ask Nines to forget the whole thing.

~0~0~0~0~0

“I found them, Gavin.” Nines’ voice scared the hell out of him, and the detective showed it by nearly leaping up in fright. He steadied himself and recovered quickly, however, not wanting Nines to get the wrong impression or to think he didn’t want to go through with this. Evidently, it was a bit late for that; Nines had seen him reacting in such a way, and concern flooded the RK900’s eyes. He lowered himself to the carpeted floor next to Gavin, and he carefully lay a large, calming hand over his back.

“We don’t have to do this if you’re not fully ready, Gavin,” he stated firmly as he set down a bottle of lube, as well as three condoms.

Gaping at the condoms especially, Gavin rasped out, “Why are there _three_ of these?!?”

For a quick moment, it appeared as though Nines had no idea what he was referring to. He only broke out of his vacant, wistful stare when Gavin very quickly gestured toward the condoms in a disoriented manner.

LED light spinning calm blue, Nines stated, “Oh, I hope this isn’t strange to admit, but I thought we’d be—”

Already catching on to what he was confessing midway, Gavin hid his face in his hands. “Okay,” he groaned out with a dash of mortification, “so your sex drive is higher than I thought it would be…great.”

Eyes round with concern, Nines bent over him as quickly supplied, “No!! Don’t think like that, Gavin! I promise, I won’t do anything you don’t want me to do.”

Already assured of _that_, Gavin smiled weakly, even though he was quite the mess on the inside.

Tilting his head curiously, Nines commented, “Damn, your heart’s beating at almost ninety-seven beats per minute…”

Whipping around while covering his chest with both hands, Gavin vehemently cried, “Nines!! Don’t continue scanning me if we’re gonna have sex!!”

Grinning triumphantly, Nines purred out deeply, “See? Your anger helped push aside your fear, there.” Leaning into him, the android beamed in pride. “I think you’ll be fine, and I’ll take good care of you to make this as pleasant as I can.”

Only offering his partner a pained expression, Gavin sighed, “Okay…I mean…I know it’ll hurt, but just…” Face burning up, he forced himself to finish, “…Just be careful.”

After a head nod communicating his assurance in the matter, Nines stopped talking, and he pressed Gavin to lie down onto his back. The detective heard the gentle sounds the fire stirring within the old fireplace made, and he felt a strange thought burning deeply within the recesses of his mind. Just how many people had Nines slept with?? Women?? He recalled that Hank had previously told him that Nines had supposedly once presented some interest in a female android. But how far had that really gone? What about after her? Was there anyone else?? Had he tried getting close with others??

The more Gavin thought about all the possible questions and scenarios involving Nines expressing interest and being intimate with others, the queasier and more nauseous he grew. Point blank, he decided that it wasn’t his business; Nines was with him, now, and he’d already stated that it was only Gavin he wanted to be with. For the time being, this sufficed and satisfied the nervous detective.

After he’d taken his time exploring and studying Gavin’s naked body, Nines returned his gaze to Gavin’s eyes. For a moment it looked like time stood still, and then, he pulled Gavin’s face to his own and began to kiss him hungrily. His lips crushed Gavin’s forcefully and this delightful pressure made the other man’s knees tremble. Soon, both men had pushed aside all thoughts of reason and propriety.

It was as if Gavin’s bones were disintegrating and he clung to Nines as though his life depended on it. Gently, Nines moved Gavin’s head to one side and his kiss deepened.

His lover’s lips parted for him and Gavin was amazed at the feeling that passed through himself. How searing and hot it was feeling Nines’ tongue touching his own. His head was swimming and when he felt his partner’s tongue entering his mouth deeper, he groaned deeply and responded passionately.

Very soon, things took their own natural course. Nines’ thumbs came to roll Gavin’s nipples around, and Nines’ warm lips met with Gavin’s repeatedly. Trying to communicate to his lover that he wanted to take things further, Nines didn’t wait for an invitation. He slipped his tongue into Gavin’s mouth again, and friction ensued. They were rough, needy kisses, which were expected for an anxious, determined man who was expressing the height of his passion for his partner.

However, just as Gavin felt like exploding due to what Nines was doing to his nipples, the android let him go and whispered hotly in his ear. “I need you to do something for me, Gavin.”

Nodding was all Gavin could do to indicate that he’d heard Nines.

“Turn around and raise your hips.”

Immediately, Gavin flipped over and did as he was told. Almost instantly, he could feel something thick and runny being pressed against his entrance. Gavin bit onto the blanket and pushed back against what he guessed was Nines’ finger after the cap of the lube bottle had been popped open. Feeling that first finger enter him made his stomach flop and his thighs feel wobbly. He grasped the blanket beneath himself and cried into it. Nines’ finger was moving inside of him while the android’s other hand reached around him and fondled his balls.

Everything started moving faster from then on. Two, then three fingers were inside of Gavin, generously coated in lubricant. Uncontrollably, Gavin’s erection was beginning to twitch in Nines’ hands. He picked himself up and leaned against his partner, resting his head back against Nines’ strong shoulders while the man pumped him, and his fingers stretched him from the inside. Gavin was moaning and screaming all at once with abandon. And truthfully, Nines found this stimulating.

He withdrew his fingers, then decided to concentrate on just preparing Gavin. While one hand teased his nipples, the other pumped him, and moments later, Nines drained Gavin of everything he had. Messily, Gavin fell back against Nines, feeling overwhelmed and loose.

While Gavin panted, Nines asked, “Are you alright?”

Moaning erotically, Gavin replied, “It’s just a n-new feeling, that’s all.”

“We’re not done,” said Nines as he lifted his lover’s ass so he could feel his erection, which was also dying for some attention. It was firmly-but gently-poking against Gavin’s bottom.

Nines ran his erection along Gavin’s firm ass, then reached over and tried spreading the shorter male’s legs out a little. Bracing himself while attempting to quell his rumbustious moans and coos, Gavin stared ahead and held still while Nines prepared him for penetration.

Dropping a hand down to support himself, Gavin peered into the flames while Nines made sure he was slick enough for entry. It was all too cold and wet between his legs, but he knew it was going to be better this way. Patiently, he tried not to stir or show a reaction, but his voice betrayed him when his ears caught the sound of Nines tearing open one of the condom packets.

Pausing, Nines gripped Gavin’s left shoulder, and he drew himself up against his partner before inquiring, “Are you sure you’re okay?”

Gavin nodded while he gulped and held his eyes shut tight. “I’m fine, Nines! I want this, and I want you!!”

Sliding the condom over his hard length, Nines held Gavin still with one hand around his waist as he muttered, “Just breathe and let me know if I’m hurting you.”

Nines then guided his penis to line up with Gavin’s entrance and slowly began pressing inside.

It hurt, and there was no lying about it or playing it down. Eyes clenched shut, Gavin cried out in a state of panic, “Oh fuck oh fuck oh fuck oh fuck!!” He tried to pull away, but since Nines was holding him tightly, Gavin tried to give way to him.

“Arrghh!” Nines hissed, freezing in place as he leaned over Gavin and panted in his ear, “Don’t tense up like that! It hurts me, too!”

Gavin didn’t exactly want for Nines to stop, but he wasn’t really enjoying this, either. Tears brimmed in his eyes, and as he buried his face against the blanket, he could hear Nines’ soothing voice cooing into his ears.

“Breathe, Gavin, just breathe, and lift your hips for a moment.” Nines’ voice was hoarser than ever before as he tried to get more comfortable inside of Gavin. Obediently, the detective arched his stomach and chest off the floor, and as he looked down, he saw and felt something gently sliding beneath his hips. It happened to be a tiny pillow, and Nines gently guided Gavin to edge himself up slightly on his knees.

This allowed for a more controlled method of penetration, as Gavin angled his hips while Nines slowly slid in deeper. Gavin moaned and gasped as he felt almost completely filled inside and stretched to the maximum capacity.

“You okay?” Nines asked him for the fifth time that night, and Gavin only nodded.

“Hold still,” Nines advised as he began pulling out before slowly pressing himself in deeper. It still burned and ached, but it was now a pleasant sort of an ache that caused Gavin to let out a long, slow moan. Nines misread his vocal signs, however, and he immediately began pulling out again.

“Nooo, ‘mm fine!!” Gavin garbled incoherently as he tried pushing against Nines. As he turned and peeked over his shoulder, he saw the green and black flames and vines tattoo. Seeing the way the tattoo shifted and twitched as Nines’ arm did in order to steady himself up behind Gavin only turned the other man on more than ever before.

Carefully, Nines began thrusting and his body forced Gavin’s to move along with his. With every push delivered from the strong android, Gavin’s body went forwards, and with every pull back, Gavin felt himself moving backwards, seeking the source of his pleasure. Now, Nines was moaning and crying out as he felt his entire cock easily sliding into Gavin, and Gavin, in turn, cried out every time Nines’ cock hit every pleasurable spot inside himself he never thought he had. He could do this all night, and he actually found himself _wanting_ this experience to happen again.

Lust and instinct took over. Suddenly, Gavin pulled away and got on all fours. He looked over his shoulder and caught the sight of the tip of Nines’ thick cock poking and pressing against him before the android slipped his cock back into Gavin. Now that he was used to it, Gavin didn’t fear the pain at all, for there was none. Throwing his head back, he screamed, “Yessss, there!!”

Now, Gavin found this to be getting easier, and more pleasurable. He found that whenever Nines nearly pulled all the way out, only to slide back into him, he was triggering and tapping into something delicious. It felt so damn right, and Gavin was mewling and begging for more. Encouraged by his moans of passion and elation, Nines moved faster while his hand attended to Gavin’s new erection.

Stumbling over messily, Gavin pressed his head against the sheets, trying to wipe away some of the sweat he felt pouring over himself. Biting down on his tongue when he felt Nines thrusting faster and faster, Gavin then arched upwards and enjoyed feeling completely swept away.

“Oooh! There! Faster, Nines!!! Faster!!”

Nines tried to keep up with his partner’s demands. He tried pounding into Gavin faster while keeping up his steady stroking, and then he felt himself coming over the edge. He leaned over Gavin and kissed his shoulders, whispering and almost crying out, “Come again for me, Gavin!”

Tugging at the sheets, Gavin only nodded and gasped. He felt his lover’s fingers running over the tip of his leaking cock, twitching over the slit, and that did it. Gavin arched and was coming harder than the last time, seeing nothing but white, orange, yellow, red, and the blue hues that were Nines’ eyes.

“Fuuuuuck! Niiines!!”

Almost at the brink of losing his control, too, Nines kissed Gavin’s sweaty back then hissed, “I’m not gonna—Gavin!!!” His hips then snapped crazily against Gavin’s ass, and the odd, jerky patterns and rhythms were too much for the shorter male to handle.

Brokenly, Gavin half moaned, and half smiled as he felt a hot, throbbing and aching sensation running deep inside his tight channel. It was odd at first, but then Gavin didn’t think it was half bad. Truthfully, he wanted to do it again, but there was no way he could communicate that to Nines as he spilled the last bits of his excitement down onto the sheets below himself.

Before Gavin could close his eyes and bury his face into the blanket, Nines reached for his chin, turned Gavin’s face around gently, and kissed his lips wholly. Nuzzling and caressing Gavin’s heated, sweaty skin, Nines slowly withdrew himself from his lover’s body and cleaned Gavin up, first. When he was through, he gently turned Gavin over to lie on his side, worried that the human’s lower torso ached.

When Nines tried to stand up, Gavin’s arm cut through the air, and he snatched the android’s long arm in his fingers. Lazily, Gavin grunted, “Noo, d-don’t go yet…”

“Gavin,” Nines panted with a tiny smirk teasing the corners of his lips, “I’m just going to remove the—”

Giggling as though floating on clouds, Gavin interrupted as he sighed out, “Yeah, sure. Come back, s-soon.”

Nines was gone and had returned in less than a minute. As the flames in the fireplace slowly weakened, Gavin was falling asleep. Taking Gavin by the hand, Nines adjusted his lover down, and then brought him into his arms. Sliding his body right next to Gavin’s, Nines lay a fresh pillow beneath Gavin’s skull, and once he’d made sure that Gavin was comfortable, he ran his fingers through Gavin’s dark brown hair while the detective just did the most natural thing in the world.

He placed his head right over Nines’ thirium pump in his chest and fell into a deep sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Idk why, but I feel I can never re-read my own sex scenes. Too explicit for me, but I'll stay up till 4 a.m. reading and watching smut and gay porn *Shrug*


	57. Finding Family

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nines' gifts: https://www.amazon.com/MengPa-Leather-Bracelet-Braided-Wristband/dp/B07ZDN6PTB  
https://www.etsy.com/listing/653305696/red-dragon-vein-dagger-point-stone

The next morning, he felt both liberated and rejuvenated, which was an odd thing to feel after having sex for the first time with another male. As odd as it felt to him, however, it was a sensation Gavin connected to the time he lost his virginity. Except…this…this was far greater, deeper, closer, and more meaningful. Perhaps it was only because there was some truth to the statement: ‘having sex with someone you love always feels better’. But did that mean he hadn’t loved any of the women he’d been with?

…..

He found he didn’t know, and he found he genuinely didn’t care. Yes, they’d bestowed unto him a lot in the way of ophelimity, but that was in the past, and it had all been purely physical. What did it matter when he was feeling so strongly and so powerfully for Nines? Anything else he experienced outside of how he thought and felt about Nines was a mere moiety of the world he’d built around himself and the person wielding all his affections.

Yes…he preferred forgetting the past, and so he did his best to omit it from the present.

The first thing he did when he woke up slightly before seven in the morning was to try and find Nines. Gavin wanted to wish his new lover a Merry Christmas, and he wanted to at least present Nines with the gifts he’d purchased for him.

Finding Nines in the kitchen quickly, Gavin discovered that his lover was already preparing breakfast. Standing tall in front of the stove, Nines tended to a lovely pancake that was already shaping up nicely. It wasn’t too thick, nor was it too thin. Once it’d fluffed up enough, Nines stepped back as he shut off the element, transferred the hot pancake from its pan onto a plate, and then plucked a blueberry and a strawberry out of a small bowl resting on the counter. Placing the berries almost elegantly on top of the swasivious pancake, Nines then turned around and offered Gavin a most gentle smile. The RK900’s dark hair was wet, which indicated to Gavin that the android obviously had showered well before even making breakfast.

Equally smiling as brightly as Nines, Gavin reached forward and brushed Nines’ wet, unkempt hair back playfully. “Morning,” he cooed, and before he had a chance to step away, Nines wove his right arm tightly around Gavin’s back. The surprised detective found himself being dragged ahead into Nines’ body. Lips captured lips, and Gavin felt Nines carefully working his lips apart so his tongue could slide in and stroke his own. Reluctantly, Gavin broke the passionate, vivacious kiss with a groan.

“Don’t do that already…”

Nines smiled at him before negotiating pleasantly, “Why not? You were clearly enjoying it.”

“Not before I shower, Nines,” Gavin replied, feeling sweat still sticking onto his skin grossly.

Shaking his head, Nines sleekly snuck a hand down behind Gavin, and before his lover had a chance to react, the tall android firmly and thoroughly palmed Gavin’s ass. Upon being groped so shamelessly, Gavin blushed, and he gently took a few steps away from Nines.

Gasping, he cried out, “Nines! Wait—”

“I thought the whole point was to get dirty enough for a shower, Gavin.” The concupiscent words lingered in Gavin’s ears, causing delicious, magnetic shudders to run straight through him involuntarily.

Staring at Nines in mild shock, Gavin asked, “Since when did you become such a perv, Nines?” Quickly chuckling, he added, “I like it, though.”

Pushing the plate bearing the pancake towards him, Nines instructed, “Eat it before it gets too cold; you can shower right after.”

Unthinkingly, Gavin grabbed his plate and whispered seductively, “I’d rather eat something else.” He’d meant for such a lewd comment never to reach and resonate within his lover’s audio receptors, but it was too late.

A rather wanton look instantly took over Nines, and without much control exerted, the android threw himself at his human lover in a quick, puissant dash. Bodies collided, and Nines practically smothered Gavin in passionate kisses. He licked and bit his way inside Gavin’s mouth, and as he did, everything they’d done together all during the night was recapitulated in Gavin’s mind. His body singed and burned from where Nines had touched him, and he emitted a strained gasp as he leapt away from his lover.

Eyeing him in concern, Nines asked, “Your body…is it…are you alright?”

Understanding now that Nines was refraining from leaping on him again, Gavin bowed his head in sheer gratitude as he rasped nervously, “Umm, I’m still a bit sore, to be honest, but nothin’ a warm shower can’t cure.”

Patiently, Nines studied him with warm eyes, and awarded him with a small nod for his honesty. “I’ll let you eat your meal, and then—”

Grasping onto his wrist tightly before he could turn himself away, Gavin rasped, “Nooo, Nines!! I don’t mean for you to leave me alone!!” Tugging on his lover’s hand while gently easing the pancake plate over onto the counter, Gavin pleaded, “Just keep me company until I’m done eating, okay?” He hated eating alone. He’d done it half his entire life, and now that he had someone he cared about so deeply, he wasn’t going to be dining alone. Ever.

Obediently, Nines sat down, and he was rather good company while he watched Gavin eat, handed him maple syrup, tissues, prepared him coffee, and just went back to staring lazily at him again until Gavin was through with his breakfast.

They were both quite happy with this arrangement, it seemed.

~0~0~0~0~0

Gavin decided to bring up the topic of ‘gift exchanges’ after his shower. He took his time and enjoyed the warm massages the shower provided, thoroughly cleansed himself, dried his hair properly, and then made his way back into the bedroom. His mother’s health and happiness were on his mind while he changed into comfortable black socks, black slacks, and a thick, brown long sleeve sweater. Padding across the carpeted floors softly, Gavin reached for his phone. Truthfully, he wasn’t too shocked to see that his mother had only texted him ‘Merry Christmas’ as opposed to calling him. It was just how the routine went for them, and he was rather accustomed to it.

Searching through his phone, he checked to see whether he’d missed sending a Merry Christmas message to anyone, when his eyes landed on Nines’ contact name in his phone.

**Fuck Stick Plastic Prick**

That name had to go. No longer did he view Nines as a machine, a plastic prick, his nemesis, or someone he wanted to avoid at all costs. Gone were the feelings of jealousy, rage, animosity, and ignominy.

The floors outside in the hallway groaned and creaked, and Gavin knew Nines was close.

“Gavin?” his voice called out to him faintly, “can I join you?”

Hurriedly, Gavin cried back, “Yeah! J-just a sec, Nines!!” Fingers flying, he changed Nines’ contact name from **Fuck Stick Plastic Prick** to **Nines**. It was proper, and the right thing to do. Putting the phone back on the night table, he stood before Nines and greeted him with a wide smile just as he walked into the room.

Nines was wearing a casual black sweater, black track pants, and black socks, like Gavin. Beaming at him, the android asked, “Is everything okay?”

“Yeah,” Gavin answered gently as he peeked out the windows at the snowy landscape surrounding the cottage, “all good, Nines.” Eyes sweeping over beneath his bed, Gavin felt his cheeks turning rosy. “I…can I give you your Christmas gifts, now?”

Tilting his head at him, Nines smiled lightly, “You may, but I’m afraid the gift I picked out for you hasn’t arrived yet; I had to order it from abroad.”

“Oh,” Gavin felt a twinge of disappointment coursing through his veins, but he wasn’t going to let that ruin his entire day. Switching back into a smile, he bent down, slid the small wrapped box out from beneath the bed, and then sat down on top of the soft mattress. Falling in line, his android partner sat down close to him, eyes gazing deeply and intently at the reindeer and elf themed Christmas wrapping paper.

Tugging at the crudely taped on tape bits, Gavin blushed as he elbowed Nines and hissed, “Don’t mock me for my shitty taping skills.”

“I’d never dream of doing that, Gavin.”

Snickering, Gavin then smiled as the loud sounds of paper ripping and peeling back hit his ears. Peeking down, he saw that together with Nines, he was taking the wrapping paper off the box.

“You did a pretty good job,” Nines commended him, leaning next to him and kissing him softly on the cheek while he placed the paper onto the center of the bed and then held the box up.

Pointing at it, Gavin stated, “I got two things for you, but I was a cheap asshole and placed them both in the same box.”

“Again, nothing wrong with doing that, Gavin.”

While Nines slowly pried off the lid of the box, Gavin couldn’t help but gaze intently at him. His eyes filled over with both admiration and love, and he knew specifically how and why that came to be. None of his previous girlfriends had ever been so grateful and polite about receiving gifts. A few of them had mocked him for not presenting them with more expensive and fancier presents, and that was something of a major turn off for Gavin ever since. But now, as he sat next to Nines, he felt nothing but calm and tranquil while Nines finally opened his gift box.

Peeking inside it, his LED light flashed blue once he unraveled a few white sheets from around the first bundle and slowly picked it up. Holding it into the air, when the paper came away from it, he revealed a black punk leather bracelet with braided rope. It was specifically a men’s Alloy bangle bracelet and wristband, and it was about three fingers thick and quite interesting as the black ropes in the sides held it up together.

Smiling, Nines cried out gleefully, “I like it!!”

“That’s not all,” Gavin pointed out, “look at the second one, and then tell me your final verdict.”

Quickly picking up the tiny black box the gift was hiding in, Nines froze as he frowned. “This isn’t—”

“No,” Gavin coughed, “it’s not a ring, don’t worry.”

A blank stare was his response. Nines’ fingers twitched for a moment, but then they stopped as he looked on and on at Gavin in total bewilderment.

The look he was receiving made Gavin feel quite uncomfortable. With a crude snort, he scoffed, “Well, shit, Nines! I’m just as confused as you are about it, but try opening the box first, man!”

Silently snapping out of his dazed state, Nines nodded slowly, and as he opened this smaller box, his eyes widened. Jaw falling open in awe, he held the item up in the palm of his right hand. It was a red dragon vein dagger point stone pendant necklace wrapped in the designs of silver and dark flowers. It appeared to be a fashionable gothic talisman that mimicked medieval Gothic renaissance jewelry. The chain was adjustable, and as Nines stared in high levels of fascination at the entire dagger, Gavin leaned forward and gently pried it out of his hands.

“Gavin—”

“I’m gonna put it on you,” the detective randomly blurted out, but it was a means to shield how upset he was. Nines seemed so relieved when Gavin had informed him that his gift wasn’t a ring. This stung Gavin deeply, and his hands and fingers trembled in a nasty mixture of anger and sadness as he opened the chain and gently placed the necklace around Nines’ neck. Adjusting it well enough, he leaned back and closed the lock.

Smiling in quite the forced manner, Gavin whispered, “Hey, it looks good on you!”

Taking his word on it, Nines nodded while touching the dragon dagger and beaming at it. He was so thrilled and excited about it, that Gavin gently snapped out of his angry, sanguineous state. After all, what did he have to be angry about?! They hardly knew each other, and yet here he was, somehow expecting for Nines to get down on one knee and—

…It was a ridiculous notion, and a highly emotionally based reaction, Gavin thought. Nines didn’t owe him a damn marriage proposal, logically speaking. They may have gotten closer in the last few months to abirritate the tension and lust billowing and teasing back and forth, they may have opened up greatly to each other, and they may have had sex and fooled around plenty of times. But that didn’t warrant a wedding proposal, otherwise at least a couple of hundred thousand couples in Detroit right now would need to be booking their weddings.

It was all too silly, in the end, and nothing worth getting upset over and run the risk of ruining such a beautiful Christmas morning. As such, Gavin smiled and tried to return to his good spirits whiles Nines sat back with the necklace perfectly resting over his neck.

“I love it, Gavin; it’s perfect.”

Plucking a finger at it, Gavin snorted, “Perfect people deserve perfect things…”

Staring down bashfully, Nines murmured, “I’m not perfect.”

“You are to me.”

The air grew thick and heavy with raw emotion neither of them knew how to understand or respond to. Both Nines and Gavin wore equally panicked expressions on their faces, as if frightened of what the other would confess to at any given moment. But before Gavin could get to his feet and bolt from the room, Nines grabbed his hand, and he gently stood up.

“Where are we going?” Gavin asked softly when Nines began helping him to his feet as well. They stood a few inches away from each other, and Nines gently wrapped a long arm around Gavin’s waist. It was odd how snugly and perfectly it seemed to fit around his body…almost as though they were made for one another…

Guiding him out of the room, down the hallway, and past the steps, Nines answered, “Come on, Gavin; we’re going to dance in the snow, now.”

“Dance in the snow?!” Gavin practically squeaked, “I’ve never—”

“Neither have I,” Nines concluded, “but we’ll make this a first.”

_A first of many things to come…_

The back door leading into the backyard opened, and Gavin and Nines found themselves in the middle of the snow. Dressed warmly in their coats, at first, they both gaped at the chubby, round snowflakes flying down from the sky. It wasn’t too cold, thankfully, and there wasn’t even a single breeze blowing. It was so calm, gentle, and serene. Gavin couldn’t ever remember winter being this pleasant and this lovely, but when he was with Nines, it very much appeared to be the case.

Taking his place behind him, Nines wrapped both his long arms around Gavin’s waist. He stood tall behind the shorter male, and as the snowflakes descended over their heads, Nines gently whispered to his partner, “Lean your head back on my shoulder.”

Doing as he was told, Gavin found much comfort in Nines’ sturdy shoulders.

“Close your eyes.”

He did, and he found that it came almost naturally to him. There was trust here, love, respect, and mutual connection. Needless to say, Gavin had never felt this way before, and he assumed Nines hadn’t, either.

Their legs slowly swayed and moved about back and forth in the snow. Nines was leading and guiding, and Gavin followed. Suddenly, he felt one of Nines’ hands sliding away from his waist, and it weaved its way down his sides until it reached his right hand. That arm slid beneath Gavin’s, and as the detective looked down in amusement, Nines pushed his hand up and opened the palm up towards the sky. Now, the snowflakes fell down into Gavin’s palm, and since he wasn’t wearing any gloves, the cold sensations of the snow hitting his warm skin and then melting away seconds later was rather refreshing for him.

Still swaying his hips and moving his feet, Nines slow-danced to a tune only he himself was able to hear. Since their bodies were so closely and so tightly pressed together, Gavin could feel Nines’ thirium pump beating in his chest, and Nines could practically hear Gavin’s heart soaring and speeding. It brought a smile to both their faces, and they remained quiet as the snow fell, trickled down into their hair, and melted almost deliciously.

“Hold up your hand higher, Gavin,” Nines instructed gently, pushing Gavin’s arm up, and then guiding it side to side as more snowflake coated the human’s pink skin.

As they swayed and danced together as one unit, Gavin truly found he couldn’t be happier. This was his happiest moment. As he blinked, some of the snowflakes fell into his eyelashes, and the rest gently kissed his cheeks and nose. It was cold to the touch, of course, but it didn’t bother him when he had Nines so closely whispering loving things into his ears.

_May this moment never end; I want it to last. _

Twirling around with Nines at his side, Gavin felt like a feather swaying in the mild breeze that had picked up. Though he didn’t turn his body completely around, he still leaned back and whispered with utmost love and elation, “Merry Christmas, Nines.”

The smile was far too obvious in the android’s voice as he mirrored Gavin’s warmth and joy in return. “Merry Christmas, Gavin Reed.”

Once Nines brought his hands down by Gavin’s waist, the detective rested and folded his own limbs on top of his partner’s. Whenever Gavin exhaled, his halitous breath came out like seductive, daunting steam and fog that engulfed them both. Eyes closed tightly again, he drowned out and pushed aside the rest of his doubts, worries, and fears. It was always naturally associated with having a new relationship blossoming in his life, or anyone’s, for that matter, but Gavin wasn’t going to play any small role in sowing the seeds of doubt and concern this early in the relationship. All he knew was that being with Nines felt good. He’d actually never felt more alive than whenever he was with Nines, and no one was going to spoil that and take it away.

For once, Gavin Reed felt he had a shot at eternal happiness.

**End of Part 2 **

* * *

Meanwhile, in an alternate Tim Burtonesque Universe, Gavin and Nines dancing in the snow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted to get this part out later, but it is looking like it will be a crazy week, and I will have little to no time for this particular fic. Plus, seeing as how this was the end of Part 2, I thought, 'what the hell, why not?'
> 
> See you guys within 2 or so weeks for Part 3!! Can't believe we are 3/4s through with this gigantic story 😥🌸


	58. I Do NOT Deserve You Guys (Special Thank You)

Perfection. **Does.** Exist. I don’t care who disagrees, but holy hell, tonight, I was surprised (pleasantly so) by the lovely Shinnnge!! 🔥💖🌺This beautiful person (like Ye_Olde_Taffer, as well as one more specially and beautifully talented artist I will be featuring soon and their superb art) has drawn me the legit best version of a Goth Nines I have seen!! What I find so lovely about this is that it’s done in black and white, which to me makes it even more flawless and exquisite!!! Ye_Olde_Taffer’s had color, which brought another grand beauty, and I think this one is also SO beautiful in black and white!

LOOK AT THE CLOTHES! LOOK AT THEM!!!!!!!!!! DO EEEEETTTT!! Seriously, the attention to detail is just astounding!! 😰😵🎉💪

It’s illegal to compare these artists’ works, because each person has a unique serenity and ethereal interpretation of Goth Nines.

Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, though, you guys ALL make me seriously weep!!! I cannot thank you enough, Shinnnge, as well as Ye_Olde_Taffer, and the upcoming artist whose art I shall feature at the beginning of Part 3. I just had to get this shout out done, because dear god, I am considering paying money to this person for their talents, I swear to everyone I own and love!!!! You are inspiring, friend!!

Please check out this artist’s tumblr page (because how can you not when their art is this darn good?!?!?!?) and send them a message if you could (I know I would appreciate it because they do deserve it). Seriously, friend, you are truly a diamond for doing this!! I cannot thank you enough!!!

*Edit* Link to their A03 profile, they also have Goth Nines as their display pic!! *SWOOOONS* : <https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shinnnge/pseuds/Shinnnge>

Link to their tumblr:<https://detroitbecomestickman.tumblr.com/archive>

Link of the actual art that is so beautiful I could drown my own ass in my tears: <https://detroitbecomestickman.tumblr.com/post/611274857284616192/gothic-sexy-nines-inspiration-comes-from-the>

*Cries in goth* 😥😭🔥💖🌺


	59. Appreciation!

😭😰✨🌸💞😵I just HAD to put this as a separate chapter out of respect for this artist as opposed to throwing in a tiny blurb about it at the top of part 3 of this fic, which will be uploaded before midnight. I just needed to get this shout out, because holy smokes!!! You guys keep impressing me on the hour by the hour!!

This lovely piece was actually done for one of my other works called ‘Don’t Weep for the Wicked’. It’s by A03 user SquemonWrites, and they were so amazing to share this stupendous talent of theirs with us all!!

I seriously can’t even begin to put into words how darn impressed I am with everyone who has drawn something based off my work. Mostly because to me, it’s very interesting to see how different people interpret what Nines looks like in my fics differently. There’s a lot of originality here in these creations, and I love more than anything else diving in to how people channel their talent, art, and passion into making something come to life from their own interpretation and imagination!!!

Brilliant work, SquemonWrites!!! I wouldn’t wanna mess with this version of Nines for sure!! He looks hella badass in every way!!! I love the effects of the blood splatter/spray in the rain, darkness, as well as the ‘magic’ electrifying this version of our favorite RK900!! The minor variations and details are breathtaking!!

Even more, it looks like (to me) Agent Nines/Asura is actually in some pain?? I may be seeing something that’s not there, but he looks conflicted, I’d say. Something’s definitely going on in his mind and with his emotions, and I love that this wonderful person managed to capture this!!

Well done!!!

Link to their A03- PLEASE do check it out because they write and create fine art/art in general and deserve lots of support: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SquemonWrites/pseuds/SquemonWrites

Link to their tumblr: <https://squemonn.tumblr.com/>

Link to their instagram: <https://www.instagram.com/squemonn/>

Wow! Just wow!! I AM speechless!!!

Part 3 of this fic will continue tonight, so look out for that!!

Lots of love to you, friend!! I cherish this piece as much as I do the others anyone else has put time and effort in! Thank you lovely people! 🎇🎆💖💘💗


	60. Breaking Barriers

**Part 3-Spring**

_It started out as a somnolent summer day._

_When he’d opened his eyes, the neighborhood he’d envisioned for days on end was suddenly looming there before himself. Odd how one could think of a place, a home, a street, a city within their minds and envision it perfectly based on what information they had, yet when it came to observing said place or home in reality, there was always more than met the eye. Optimism was grand, but all too often, one had to abnegate that notion in the face of tension and abject danger. Surprises loomed large for him these days; anything was possible, and he had to expect anything and be prepared for the worst. His pessimistic nature got the better of himself as he gaped at the large old house as soon as he stepped out of the DPD protective van he’d arrived in. Teamed up with a group of heavily armed officers, he waited and lingered behind until the back doors slid open. _

_They’d ceased moving. He wasn’t sure why he hadn’t been able to determine that previously, though he supposed it was because nothing matched with the image uploaded of the property versus the reality of the_ _eldritch situation he was walking into. In the DPD, this street had been known as a ‘hazard’ of sorts. On the maps permanently, this street was a problematic ensemble housing a lot of vagrants and lower working-class citizens of Detroit. At least every other week, the DPD had been notified of calls and reports coming out of Highland Street North regarding breaking and entering, domestic abuse, and at least an Amber Alert every so often. It was over all a terrible place to live, and the environment and housing conditions were quite poor. _

_And yet, he’d never been here before…_

_Was he even prepared for today?! Could he handle what had been thrown at him so unexpectedly and callously? He found he didn’t know, but he didn’t want to reveal to others that he didn’t know. There wasn’t any room for doubt and uncertainty; not when lives were at stake. _

_As soon as he climbed out of the large DPD van, violent and loud screaming could be heard emanating from within house number 44 Highland Street North. This was the exact house that the report from neighbors had flown right into Captain Fowler’s office at approximately half-past ten in the morning. It was on this day that his life had changed forever. _

_He would remember this day; Wednesday, June 12, 2039._

_Today was the day that innocent children’s lives were in imminent danger, and all at the hands of their own father. Henry DaSilva was a working-class husband and father of two little girls, both gorgeous identical twins. According to what they knew so far, the twins had just turned twelve not even a week ago. Sharon and Crystal DaSilva were happy little girls, often quiet, not asking for much in their lives, and tried to help out their mother Charlotte DaSilva as often as they could. To make ends meet, Henry had to do a lot of odd jobs, despite the fact that he’d been trained in such a trade and had gone to school to become a successful electrician. Initially having struggled at first, Henry eventually struck gold and was able to open, start up and operate his own electrician business. _

_Unfortunately, when the U.S. economy went through some difficulties and major upheavals, Henry’s business struggled as a result as well. Still, the then thirty-three-year-old didn’t give up. He’d teamed up with a plumber, a welder, as well as a painter in order to save costs, time, and a lot of energy. Henry assumed that a lot of people who wanted their houses renovated would probably snatch up a good deal advertising a discount and special offer for all services at a reduced price. As such, ‘Handy Man, Dandy Man’ had opened its doors to customers in the late summer of 2035, and it’d been a huge success. _

_Sadly, as business had boomed for Henry and his crew of ‘Handy Man, Dandy Man,’ the plumber and the welder had clashed numerous times, and they both eventually teamed up against Henry. Mutiny had been inevitable, unfortunately. Despite Henry’s noble, good intentions, whenever and wherever money was concerned, people changed. The welder and the plumber got greedy, and they demanded that Henry either give them a cut of his business owner’s earnings, or give them enough money so they could retire years too early. _

_It was a loss, and one Henry suffered greatly as he shut down his business when the two men on the opposing side threatened to sue him._

_No…money wasn’t entirely an issue, yet it was. He could tell as he stared around the house, and studied the outer perimeter. This was a sad, sad spectacle, and he could hardly believe that two little girls were being raised and brought up in such a home. Outside, things were chaotic enough as it were. Wild dogs and cats ran around the street and neighborhood, filthy, possibly rabid, and totally aggressive. If a child got in their way…that would no doubt be their untimely end. It was so unjust; children didn’t deserve to be raised in such a place. The sewage system was overflowing and toxic in every regard. Garbage, toxic ‘water’ that he assumed was ‘sludge’ more than anything else, burnt leaves, grass bits, as well as disintegrating tools and bits of furniture littered the streets, practically lining it up and down at every side as it piled up past the curbs. _

_The trees hardly produced green vegetation, the air was foul, and the clouds even looked monstrous in their ever-teratogenic transformation. Peeking up at them now, he saw that they were greyer with a tinge of green, almost as though an otherworldly storm was brewing about in the putid atmosphere. Birds didn’t fly in_ _vivacity or make a sound, here, as though fearful that if they did, they would inhale whatever was stirring about in the air. Animal fur, feces, as well as other bodily fluids from who-knew-what littered the sidewalks, every inch of the pavement, and was scattered about randomly on certain homes’ driveways. _

_A total mess. _

_House number 44 itself didn’t appear to be in such a chaotic state, at least not so much from the outside at face value. If a jogger-not that many of them chose to jog freely in this neighborhood-happened to be running back, upon first glance, hardly anything would be amiss. House number 44 was in just as much of a poor condition as house 42, 46, and 40, for that matter. In fact, as it stood between all the other houses on Highland Street North, it fit right in with the rest of the ambiance, and no one suspected much if they just glanced at the house._

_House 44 had a burnt-out front doorstep light bulb. The light cover of the lamp had been bashed, as was something of a ‘running theme’ in all the houses on the street. The mailbox had been almost completely torn off the side of the house, with plenty of colorful graffiti sprayed onto it. Windows of the house still remained intact, much to his initial shock, but the rest of the exterior of the property was abysmal. The bricks had been chipped, but it looked man made and done on purpose. The roof’s shingles needed to be replaced…years ago. Some of them barely clung on, while others floated high in the air when the wind blew them up. Leaves piled up in certain places on the roof, no doubt nests and homes for squirrels and other little critters. _

_Aside from these oddities, house 44 didn’t seem too badly out of place._

_But there was always more…_

_He knew that there was more. They’d been called here for a specific reason, and they had a purpose to fulfill. But what was HIS purpose in this??_

_For once, he was faced with plenty of ambivalent questions, and he didn’t think any of them would be answered. After all, there wasn’t much time for questions, not in a situation as tumultuous as this one he’d walked into. For the time being, the deadly silent ambience was enough to accourage him to begin his work._

_As he was through with his second brief scan of the outer perimeter of the house, he’d started to resume the same for the internal portions of the home, when he heard glass shattering. It was unmistakable; such a distinct, reprehensible sound that was so unseemly in its own right. It riled everyone else up and made them tense, which was probably what its intended purpose had been all along. _

_And then, there were gunshots. _

*x*x*x*x*x*

Nines stared at the smoke rising tauntingly from the heated and lit end of Gavin’s cigarette. The ashes burnt away and flickered down onto the edge of the mattress, but Nines found he didn’t care much. His eyes could only follow the motions Gavin Reed’s hand made as he curled a few of his fingers around the length of the cigarette for a better grip on it. The RK900 had of course witnessed many humans doing the same thing, however, Gavin Reed’s hands were something else altogether. Quite artistic, they seemed to be sculpted and chiseled almost perfectly to the android’s eyes. They didn’t give away his age, and his skin looked both rough, yet smooth simultaneously. His fingers weren’t too thick or long, nor did the rest of his body display any signs of distress, even though he was moving onto his second cigarette.

Nines still didn’t entirely approve of Gavin doing such a thing to his body, and after lecturing the human on the effects of tobacco on his lungs and system, the other male stopped paying much attention to the pother. It was an ingrained habit for the human, and in his opinion, smoking wasn’t a piacular offense or heinous crime by any stretch of the imagination. Claiming that the habit relieved him of stress in the past, Gavin insisted and provided his own version of a ‘logical explanation’ for why he smoked.

In this case, the cigarettes hadn’t been used for relieving stress, however.

After a long drive from Gavin’s family cottage back to Nines’ apartment, the pair had safely reached home at almost 11:40 p.m. on Christmas night. Tomorrow was Boxing Day, and Gavin planned on sleeping in. Although Nines had done majority of the driving back to the apartment, Gavin was far too exhausted to help out with unpacking their belongings when they settled back into the apartment. Slightly peeved, Nines eventually decided to unpack all by himself. The job would’ve been easy to complete…if Gavin allowed for it to happen. It seemed that the detective however had suddenly taken on a ‘playful’ persona; the entire time Nines attempted to put things back in order, Gavin would joke about their sexual encounter. The words didn’t affect Nines much, and Gavin picked up on it relatively quickly.

Being the competitive person Gavin Reed was, he soon decided to take things to another level; he started physically teasing Nines as a means of accourting himself. Groping, grabbing at him, and bestowing sensual touches and sultry kisses whenever and wherever he could, his antics soon drove Nines completely insane. Much to the RK900’s chagrin, he lost control in a short amount of time, and both Gavin and Nines hardly made it to the bedroom before they engaged in mutual masturbation right on the living room floor. It was a messy encounter, to say the least, and not one Nines was fond of repeating. He hated losing self-control.

When he resumed his arduous task of putting the rest of their items away, he’d made the mistake of not wearing a shirt before pacing around the apartment. After less than fifteen minutes, Gavin had ‘recovered’ sexually, and he again threw himself on Nines. This time, however, they seemed to contain semblances of reason, and they made it to the bedroom. Plopping down onto the bed was the only thing they both felt before getting lost in an entanglement of limbs and sweat. They writhed against each other for nearly twenty minutes before Nines attempted to prepare Gavin for deeper intimacy, but the detective cringed and informed his partner that he was still feeling ‘sore’.

They still enjoyed getting off in other ways, and right after, Gavin had his first cigarette while laying his head lazily in Nines’ lap over the bed sheets. Enamored by it all, Nines stroked his hair and gently played with it until Gavin finished his cigarette. Truthfully, that was when he’d first felt the stirs of annoyance seeping into his system, but he chose to refrain from commenting. He knew that either way, the stubborn, reprobate human lying on his bed completely naked would do anything to resume his lifelong habits as a means to accoy himself from his burdens.

Nines had at least remonstrated that he couldn’t do everything by himself when it came to the rest of the unpacking, and so Gavin took to helping…in his own way. Gavin’s version of lending a hand was quite risible. What should’ve been a rather easy task of putting away the toiletries and body hygiene products became grueling. Gavin simply refused to get anything done, and he took up a little game for himself of throwing the neatly folded and freshly washed socks and underwear at Nines.

After warning Gavin not to throw the clothes around so callously for the fifth time in less than half an hour, Nines gave up. Unceremoniously, he tossed Gavin onto the center of the messed-up mattress, eager to get him to cease and desist, at first. When Gavin however looked at him in a certain way, gripped his ass firmly, and whispered into his ear demanding a ‘second round’, Nines found he couldn’t reject his partner. How could he depurate his lustful, perverse mind and deracinate all the profluent experiences still so fresh and new? Especially after experiencing them with Gavin??

After all, who could refuse?! He was gone the moment Gavin’s profulgent eyes met his own, and skin delightfully and sensually rubbed against skin in just the way he liked.

That was how they spent majority of the night, and after cleaning both himself and Gavin off with a small sheet once they were finished again, Nines found Gavin leaning over the right edge of the bed towards the small night table for a second cigarette. Now, Nines couldn’t stop himself. Angrily, he slammed his hand down over Gavin’s, and they’d argued a little back and forth until Gavin won with the promise of giving him a ‘much needed’ blow job some time tomorrow.

Rolling his eyes, Nines muttered, “I’m not a sex fiend, Gavin; I was just concerned for your health.”

Staring at the cigarette, his lover shrugged nonchalantly. “I already have a mother, Nines, and I—”

“Yeah, I got it; I’m not your mother,” Nines snapped, turning away from Gavin towards the left side of the bed as he yanked a pillow out from underneath his back and shoved it between their bodies. Settling into the mattress a bit aggressively, he channeled his true emotions well enough. He could sense Gavin’s inquisitive eyes on himself, and he turned over his shoulder and glared at the other man.

Gavin waved awkwardly, “What?”

With a strained sigh, Nines rose from the bed. “I’m going for a shower,” he randomly announced, and he caught Gavin shrugging again out of his peripheral vision.

“Okay?” he chuckled as he ran a hand through his hair, “this is all kinda odd…”

Not replying to that, Nines padded into the bathroom, not at all caring that he was buck naked as he turned on the water to cold and ruffled his own messy hair a few times before movng to step inside the shower stall. He’d barely had a leg inside, when his system alerted him to the fact that tobacco was blowing around and filling up the room.

Hardly glancing up, Nines admonished in a deep growl, “Gavin, if you’re gonna smoke in here, at least make sure to turn on the fan.”

“Sorry.”

The loud sounds of the fan blew about in his audio receptors, and then he heard Gavin putting his cigarette out over a dark ashtray resting in one corner of the vanity. While Nines allowed the cold water to sweep over his raven-colored hair and smooth, toned body, he faintly caught the sound of the shower stall door squeaking and sliding open.

“Can I join you?”

“Gavin, it’s—”

“AH!!!! JESUS FUCKING CHRIST!!! WHY’S IT SO FUCKING COLD?!?!?!”

Rolling his eyes, Nines muttered blandly, “I tried to warn you.”

Practically pressing himself in the corner farthest away from the spray of the shower head, Gavin shivered as he pointed at the faucets. “C-can you ch-change it t-to warm?!!?”

With a playful grin, Nines leaned down, and he turned the faucet more towards cold. “Liiiiike this?”

“OOOOOOOOH!!!!”

Enjoying the reactions he was drawing out of Gavin, Nines held a devilish look in both eyes. His fingers lazily hovered towards the ‘warm’ side of the faucet. Shivering loudly, Gavin’s teeth clattered together as he kicked and splashed some water at Nines.

“HURRY UP!!”

“Cold water or hot water doesn’t affect me, Gavin.”

Still stubbornly fighting, Gavin reached behind himself, and he grabbed a bottle of conditioner in his right hand. “NINES! STOP FUCKIN’ AROUND!” he roared from the top of his lungs, “TURN ON THE WARM WATER!!”

With a deep purr emitted, Nines winked as he asked, “Where are your manners?” His fingers ghosted along the warm water faucet, and then he turned around and wormed his way over towards his lover. Shrieking, Gavin backed away as much as he could, but he had nowhere to go being pressed up against the cold shower tiles.

Holding the conditioner bottle up above his head, he snapped viciously, “Nines! I’m w-w-warning you!!!”

“Hmm?” Tilting his head back, Nines used his right arm to stretch it over towards the warm water faucet. “Are you?” He knew he was proscribing from Gavin’s mesquin commands, but he couldn’t help it.

“Nines…”

Very gently, Nines turned the faucet on. The water changed temperature abruptly, and as the playful android kept his eyes on Gavin, he waited for the perfect moment. Knowing it would arrive, soon, Nines carefully trained his elated eyes on Gavin. He knew the human would be seeking out warmth immediately, and when he did, Nines would be ready for him.

His arm slowly lowered the bottle of conditioner, but he hadn’t released it, yet.

Three…

“Whew,” Gavin sighed, “thanks man.”

Two…

Feet moving towards the shower head, Gavin whispered, “So damn cold, still! The fuck!”

….

One…

Nines pounced. Leaping back, he once again blasted on the cold water, and it splashed and sprayed Gavin right in the face.

“AAAIIIIIIII! OOOOOOOOOH!!!!!” The detective screamed out in high-pitched wails, and he practically danced as he leapt back. “NIIIIIIIIIINES!!!! YOU ASS!!!”

Ducking quickly, Nines was able to get out of the way before the conditioner bottle could hit him. It sailed through the air above his head powerfully, and it slammed against the tiles before crashing down by Nines’ feet. Gavin was steaming and stewing in anger, and Nines heard him grunting out ‘fuck it’, before he quickly stepped forward and adjusted the water temperature to warm.

“You want shit done properly? Do it your fuckin’ damn self!” he muttered angrily as he turned around a few times in tiny circles and rubbed his hands all over himself. Nines saw that he had bumps raised on his skin all over, which indicated that he really was cold.

Although he’d initially enjoyed plenty of deviations from Gavin’s pleas, the expressions working their way onto his lover’s face wasn’t worth it. Feeling remorseful over his discommodious actions, Nines sought atonement by reaching for his lover. When he tried gathering the shivering male into his arms, Gavin hissed, “Stay away from me!”

A penitent looked washed over Nines’ face as he leaned into Gavin with determination. “Don’t do that, Gavin,” he sighed while his teasing, lusory nature was incapacitated. “I was only kidding around.”

His hands were smacked away while Gavin shrieked, “That’s not a f-funny joke, Nines! What if I get sick again!?”

Smiling proudly, Nines stepped closer to Gavin, and he enveloped the short man into his tight embrace. Nestling his nose into Gavin’s wet locks, he purred happily while aiming to play the role of an encomiast, “Then I’ll take care of you…again.” He didn’t want to say it out loud in case his lover got the wrong idea entirely, but he found he actually enjoyed taking care of Gavin.

Gavin ceased putting up much of a resistance now that he was warmer, but he retained his bossy, nagging attitude. Nines felt him pulling away, and he grabbed a bottle of body wash from the shower rack next to himself. Shoving it beneath Nines’ nose, he ordered, “Get my back, at least.”

Obediently, Nines did just that for him; using a gentle loofa while scraping and scrubbing at his back softly. However, Nines was playful about it, and a few times, his hands wandered over towards the swell of Gavin’s pert ass. Swatting it once when he sensed that Gavin was almost ‘asleep’ due to enjoying his back rubs, Nines hissed, “It’ll be your turn to do me, soon, so stop napping on the job.”

When he made to touch Gavin’s ass again, the detective reacted quickly, and he pushed Nines a bit roughly in the center of his chest. Wet eyebrows furrowed, Gavin made to say something-possibly a horrible insult-when Nines reached up with a few fingers and softly caressed Gavin’s skin. Foreheads pressed together, Nines closed his eyes as he whispered, “You look absolutely magnificent even when you’re at the height of your anger, you know.”

“Oh yeah?! And whose fault is that, I wonder?!”

“Hmm,” he kissed the center of Gavin’s forehead, “mine.”

Grumbling as he was reduced to a state of speechlessness due to Nines’ caritative nature, Gavin only leaned against Nines. As their hips touched, the android scoffed, “Something’s poking me…”

Gavin snapped, “Well, it _was_ fuckin’ cold in here, so a thousand pardons.”

“I never said it was bad,” came the response followed by a lewd wink before Nines found his eyes caught between Gavin’s legs. Licking his lips, he rasped, “Not a bad sight either, if you’re asking me.”

Gasping, Gavin playfully punched Nines in the arm as he cried out while blushing, “Perv!!”

“Maybe I am,” Nines hissed into his ear as he wrapped a long arm around Gavin’s waist. Pulling his lover into himself, he continued, “But I think you don’t mind it, do you?” What Nines was feeling rested along engouement, but he hadn’t the words to convey that to Gavin without losing his damn mind.

Strangely, Gavin was struggling, too.

When he saw that his lover had no words, Nines quickly spun him around as he stated, “Try not to move; I’m going to wash your hair.”

Listening to both Gavin sighing sufficiently in content and the stream of the water pouring down over their heads soothed the android. As his soapy and slick fingers coated Gavin’s hair in shampoo, weaving, curling, coiling, and massaging the warm scalp, Nines couldn’t help but notice that his own eyes involuntarily closed, too. It came naturally to him with such clairvoyance, and he found he was enjoying this probably more so than Gavin. The weight of the illecebrous detective’s head on his right shoulder was just the perfect pressure he found he’d been longing to feel, and Nines steadied himself while rinsing and washing Gavin’s dark brown hair.

“Your hair is so soft…”

Gavin hummed deeply, but then slowly turned around. A concerned look was evident in his eyes, and for a moment, Nines wondered whether he’d said something wrong, something offensive, or had harmed Gavin somehow.

But he’d been so gentle!!!

“What’s wrong?” came the broken, frazzled whisper of his question, his sexual appetite partially curbed for the moment.

For a long time, Gavin remained silent. The silence was so great, that it grew to be too loud. It rang in Nines’ audio receptors, and unnaturally, his thirium pump overworked itself as he stared at Gavin intently. He reminded himself to remain calm, to be patient, to wait…

Why wouldn’t Gavin say anything??

Now he knew exactly what impatience felt like, and he hated it as he pushed Gavin’s wet hair strands out of his eyes.

When their eyes met, Nines somehow sensed that Gavin was ready to talk. He wasn’t wrong.

Almost reluctantly, Gavin whispered weakly, “I…I’m worried a-about my mom…when I last spoke with her, she wasn’t well, Nines.” Inching closer to his partner, Gavin almost touched Nines with his chin as he continued faintly, “Do you suppose we can go see her together? Please?”

How could he deny Gavin? This was his mother he was concerned about, and as much as Nines didn’t like Dr. Carrie Moser, his feelings for his partner greatly outweighed his sense of pride, ego, and even dignity.

All too quickly, he found himself smiling as he replied, “Of course we can.”

A bright smile was his reward, followed by Gavin cupping his face in both hands strongly as he planted a most chaste kiss on his lips. “Thank you, Nines, thank you…”

As he wrapped Gavin in a tight embrace, he murmured, “Don’t worry about it.”

He was worried, however. Oh, so terribly worried.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Christ...


	61. Pretty Little Solace

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shorter than usual, but I did what I could :(  
Both music pieces in this chapter belong to Korn. Legit, they're awesome! Listen to them if you can and want.  
Twisted Transistor: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o7uGPWFwg1I  
Coming Undone: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yPsqQ13UduQ

Nines sat before the TV with Gavin on the other end of the couch. The detective was trying to get a hold of his mother, and as Nines flipped through the many variety of channels, he tried ignoring his sense of growing doom and nocent frustration. He was feeling increasingly nervous for some odd reason, but he had no idea what the root source of it all was. There shouldn’t have existed any execrable, epinosic feelings within himself, yet they came unbridled and uninvited.

The TV wasn’t providing much of a distraction, either, so while Gavin tried connecting with his mother, Nines walked around his apartment to take up some sufficient ‘chores’ to do. Watering his plants was first on his list, and when he’d taken care of each and every single one of them, he decided to take down his Christmas decorations. It caught Gavin’s attention, and he set his phone down onto his lap as he hissed, “The hell!?! Wait till New Year’s to do that, Nines!!!”

“I want them gone,” Nines asserted, and then took to removing the lights, first. Behind himself, he heard Gavin huffing waspishly, but then he redialed his mother’s number. While waiting, he flipped through the same channels Nines previously had. One by one, the busy RK900 was able to hear cooking channels, commercials playing loudly, sports games blasting, and other things in the world going on. He shook his head while putting the lights away in a box. Moving to take down the Christmas tree, next, Nines heard Gavin changing the channels again.

Before he could snap at the other man to pick one and stick with it or just turn off the TV entirely, he heard Gavin crying out in anger, and then the TV remote had been flung across the room. Violently smashing into the rutilant screen of the TV, that specific harsh noise had cut it for Nines. He couldn’t be patient any longer.

Rounding on Gavin as he stood to his full height, he cried out vehemently, “If you think you can sit around and trash my home, then you—” His flinty eyes caught movement. The TV was still on, and as Nines peeked over at the program playing, he immediately understood why Gavin had reacted in such a violent, abrasive manner.

_“And do please tell us Mr. Kamski, if you will, just what CyberLife has in store for us come New Year!!” _

The timing had truthfully been horrible, to say the least. On the TV happened to be Elijah Kamski and Chloe walking around the inside of a CyberLife lab together hand in hand, basking in their obvious gasconism. Chloe was wearing a snowy-white dress with fancy designs and lacy patterns. A veil trailed behind her along the clear floor, and her white high heels clicked softly while she walked along next to Kamski. The man had let his hair loose, and it hung down just past his jawline as he beamed while proudly leading the gaumless interviewer, the banal camera crew, and the rest of the reporters down the narrow hallway of one of CyberLife’s labs. He was wearing a pure white suit with a black bowtie, and he didn’t seem the least bit exhausted as he yapped on and blabbed away; no doubt showing off whatever it was that had landed him so much attention to warrant being interviewed.

Lips curled back in a silent snarl of a protest, Gavin gripped the left armrest of the couch as he trembled almost violently. Nines was a bit taken aback by his lover’s body language, but he felt he now understood why Gavin was reacting in such an ombré manner. Truthfully, he found he couldn’t blame the man, either.

Deciding to be as empathetic as he could, he approached Gavin carefully as he stated gently, “Gavin, I may not understand what you’re going through exactly, but I think you should talk to me while you can.”

His partner shook and jerked his head towards him, gradually lifted a hand up as he cried, “Can you believe this piece of shit?!”

Nines nodded carefully, “I know.”

“Fuckin’ asshole!” Rocking, Gavin wheezed out as he gripped his temples, “The rest of the world could be on fire, and as long as the great Elijah fuckin’ Kamski’s all safe and snug in his fuckin’ CyberLife castle, then it’s all okay, huh?!?”

The man’s heart rate was steadily on the rise, and Nines was worried he would either have a panic attack or suffer some other detrimental issue. Remaining calm himself, he carefully sat down next to Gavin, and he enounced, “Look, I think we need to focus on things that are far more important.”

Head spinning around with a ‘click’, Gavin cried, “Seriously, Nines?! Like what?!?”

Sticking on the subject matter, Nines reminded him, “Your mother, Gavin; her health is more important!!!”

Emitting a tiny rasp of a sound that only communicated how upset he was over this, Gavin rubbed his forehead and temples while steadily rocking. He did this for some time, until Nines stopped him by placing both his hands over his shoulders.

“Gavin,” the obsequious android spoke his name softly, “we need to start thinking about your mother.”

Nodding, the detective repeated, “You’re right, you’re right…I’m sorry…I know you’re right.”

It wasn’t a matter of merely being proven right or wrong for Nines, but he didn’t correct Gavin. Gently massaging his shoulders, he whispered, “Try connecting with her while I finish cleaning up.”

Noises still came from the TV as they sat together closely, and Gavin eventually growled, “Can you shut that shit off, at least? I don’t want to listen to his fuckin’ voice anymore.”

Blinking once, Nines stood up, found the remote, and he shut the TV off. “It’s okay, Gavin, everything will be alright.”

Why did it seem like a lutulent lie when he said that?! He wasn’t used to lying, but Nines felt more than anything that his words were cheap, insufficient lies. Gavin deserved better…Gavin deserved more…

And yet the human male had surprised Nines yet again by wrapping his arms around Nines’ neck, pulling him into a close embrace, and just burying his face in Nines’ neck. Many fresh tears were felt there on his skin, but Nines pretended like he had no idea that Gavin was softly sobbing. Vowing to always help, support, and decrassify any stressful situation befalling Gavin, Nines held on just as tightly. The fecund android sincerely hoped his actions were truly feracious with a good result achieved for Gavin in the end.

It was always better this way; to pretend. Ignorance was bliss…sometimes.

*x*x*x*x*x*

For nearly three whole days, Gavin’s mother seemed to have her phone and email system set up so that anytime Gavin called or messaged her, he would receive some kind of automated voice and email message that read out:

_Hello, thank you for contacting Dr. Moser. I’ll be out of my office due to vacation until January 2nd, 2041. My office hours will resume as regular from January 2nd, but if this is a serious case, please forward any inquiries to my Graduate Student assistant, Lauren Cooper. Thank you. _

Nines peeked over at Gavin’s phone, and he sighed, “You gonna try again?”

Nervously fidgeting, Gavin responded, “I’ve tried for three days now, Nines…”

“Fourteen emails, twenty-four text messages, and fourteen phone calls _do_ look kinda needy.”

Setting his phone down, Gavin’s eyes darted around the living room as he groused, “What else am I supposed to do, Nines?! I have an elderly parent, and I need to get a hold of her badly!!”

Staring at the phone, Nines suggested, “Contact Lauren?”

“I don’t wanna contact fuckin’ Lauren, Christine, Josie, Amy, Jessica, Felicia, or anyone fuckin’ else!!” His voice bounced on the walls and ceiling, but Nines still hadn’t reacted badly or negatively. Reaching for Gavin’s phone, his fingers barely brushed it when Gavin pulled it away.

“Don’t—”

“May I please see it?”

Their eyes met, and Gavin brokenly whispered, “Why? What for?”

Coming up with the answer quickly, Nines stated, “Because I want you to stop looking at it, for one, and two, I want to check the dates again in her automated email.”

Squinting his eyes in frustration, Gavin retorted angrily, no doubt aiming to festinate his words in order to find a solution. “I’ve already read out the dates many times, though!!”

Knowing it would only hurt to keep reiterating it, Nines nodded as he gently supplied, “I know; that’s not what I wanted out of it…” Reaching again for the phone and this time actually being granted the permission to at least touch it, he sighed, “I just wanted to see where her office is located exactly so we can go there ourselves.”

With a crude snort, an irreverent Gavin snapped, “Nines, don’t be dumb! My mom doesn’t fuckin’ _live_ on campus!!”

“I know _that_, Gavin,” Nines snickered, “don’t be dumb, yourself. I’m just trying to do something instead of worrying and moping about the apartment.”

A reprehensible finger pointed itself into his face as his partner snapped angrily, “If you’re suggestin’ that my ass is doin’ that, then I swear to God, Nines, you won’t get any sex for _two months_!!!”

Frankly, as much as he cared about Gavin as a person, and as much as he was drawn to the man for his personality and character, the idea of abstaining from sex for that allotment of time freaked Nines out. Trying not to show it so he wouldn’t run the risk of pissing his temperamental partner off, he made sure his face bore only a serious expression as he stated, “I understand that, Gavin, and I swear I wasn’t picking on you. I was just saying—”

Heaving the phone into his chest, suddenly, Gavin ordered bossily, “Do your thing! I wanna see my mom and make sure she’s okay, first.”

Rolling his eyes, Nines set the phone down as he offered calmly, “The University is closed.”

“No shit; it’s nighttime.”

…This was going downhill steadily more than Nines anticipated.

Trying not to snap back with his own sarcastic reply that would no doubt lead into a frazzled argument, he only stated, “I mean the University is closed until January 2nd, Gavin.” Waiting for his narquois partner to understand where he was taking this train of thought, Nines crossed a leg over the other and leaned next to Gavin. As he watched him patiently and carefully for the purposes of seeing that light flicker in his eyes, he was very soon disappointed when Gavin frowned in deep confusion.

With a shrug, he admitted, “I don’t get it, Nines.”

“That’s okay,” Nines calmly held onto Gavin’s hands, and tried not showing how upset he was when Gavin pulled away. “Since the University’s doors are closed for now, I think it is the best time to go see your mother.”

Finally, the lights turned on.

Jaw dropping, Gavin gasped, “Holy shit, you’re right!! Why didn’t that shit occur to me earlier?!”

This time, Nines was sarcastic as much as he wanted to be. Offering Gavin a bland look, he placed his hand beneath his chin as he sighed, “Well, shit, Gavin, I was wondering about that just as much as you.”

A shove was bestowed unto him as Gavin pressed his hand into his shoulder. “Shut up, man! I can’t think when I’m stressed!!”

Still choosing to joke and quip, Nines snatched Gavin’s hand in his own, and tugged the shorter male into his arms. Gavin’s head rested in his lap, now, and as the surprised detective peered up into Nines’ eyes, the android smirked triumphantly. “I have to then ask just how you’ve managed to ‘think’ all these years, Gavin…”

His lover gasped, but Nines swiftly and cunningly added, “Given your brilliant displays of sheer logic, I think it’s fair to say that you _haven’t_ been thinking all your life, right?”

A hand fisted his dark hair, and Gavin hissed sensually, “Prick.”

“Bitch.”

Gavin’s eyelids slowly fluttered closed before he flippantly murmured, “Plastic jerk.”

Nines had other lusory insults dancing on the tip of his tongue, but the moment he saw Gavin’s eyes shut, and the second he felt how soft and pliant Gavin’s body felt in his arms, he decided to put that off to another day. They could always go back and forth with their playful banter another time.

As if it were the most natural thing in the world for himself to do, he leaned down and captured Gavin’s lips in a passionate kiss.

*x*x*x*x*x*

“I want to spend New Year’s Day with my mom,” Gavin announced bright and early on the morning of December 30th. Nines was through with showering, and before he’d washed up, he’d made sure to shave Gavin’s face neatly and gently for him. As soon as he’d exited from the icy cold shower, Gavin had blurted out his desires while Nines dried himself with a towel.

Leaning against the vanity, Gavin gestured at the wall as he muttered, “We’ve been together for a while, now, and still no fuckin’ mirror, huh?”

Quickly rubbing his hair and lower torso with the towel, Nines scowled at Gavin, and then carelessly tossed it over his partner’s head. Gavin sputtered in shock, and as he threw the wet towel down to the floor, he cried out loudly, “Hey! What the hell?! Don’t whip that at me when it was around your nuts a second ago!!”

While he pet himself dry, Nines smirked as he flicked more water at his distraught partner. “For one, I’m clean as a whistle, douchebag,” he pointed out as he turned towards Gavin completely, “and two, you’ve already had your slutty lips and mouth on my nuts about twenty times now.” He could sense Gavin’s eyes roaming over his perfectly chiseled abs, and then venturing lower.

Gavin coughed out, “Has it s-seriously been twenty times?!”

His smirk gave him away. “Not really; about ten times, more specifically.”

“Way to make me sound like some thirsty—”

Ignoring him, Nines slipped into a pair of black boxers, and as he straightened up, he found that Gavin was staring at his shoulders and neck. Those grey-blue eyes wandered along the length of his neck, moved along his clavicle almost gracefully, and then roamed back over his chest up and down before ending the visual journey back onto his neck.

Lifting a brow, Nines asked lightly, “See anything you like, babe?”

Though his partner blushed, he still didn’t react angrily as he grunted, “I…I was wonderin’ something, Nines…” As Gavin took a few measured steps towards him, then, he flicked out his index finger, and he trailed it just an inch in the air above Nines’ skin. “I think you could totally get more tattoos, dude.” Stepping back, he studied all of Nines’ mostly nude form, and he nodded in confirmation.

But what did he think?? Truthfully, Nines had never pondered it before, but if it pleased Gavin, he was willing to give it a shot.

Placing his hands on the vanity, he stared away straight at where the mirror he never owned was. Clear as day, he could see it, and he smiled. “What kind of tattoos do you think I should get?”

With a coy grin teasing his features, Gavin leaned against him as he whispered, “Don’t know, but I was thinkin’ of gettin’ some myself…and possibly dying my hair, too…”

Spinning around to stare at him, Nines imagined it right then and there as Gavin snickered, “You could do that for me, right Nines?”

*x*x*x*x*x*

Nines had never suspected that he would have one of the best times of his life with Gavin half naked in the bathroom as they stood and bopped their heads in time to the beat of Pantera’s _Walk _just ending slowly. They’d gone through tons of music that Gavin had picked out, first, and after their fair share of Metallica, Opeth, Black Sabbath, and Lamb of God, Nines decided to switch up the music.

As he danced around Gavin, the lyrics to Korn’s _Twisted Transistor _boomed all across the bathroom.

_Hey you, hey you, devil’s little sister,_

_Listening to your twisted transistor,_

_Hold it between your legs,_

_Turn it up, turn it up!_

_The wind is coming through!_

_Can’t get enough!_

_A lonely life where no one understands you,_

_But don’t give up because the music do…_

Having their own little ‘party’ or sorts, Gavin danced and spun around half naked while holding a cigarette between his teeth firmly, and Nines-now dressed in black shorts-dipped his black-fingered gloves into the hair dye mix. Thankfully, it hadn’t taken long to acquire some in a hurry, and Gavin had announced that he wanted something of a ‘makeover’ before he saw his mother.

Apparently, he could also use it for New Year’s, but he didn’t seem to want to dye his whole head, Nines found out. That didn’t trouble Nines much; Gavin’s smoking did. Hatching a funny way to try and get Gavin to stop smoking, he quickly leaned down before his partner’s face.

_Because the music do,_

_And then it’s reaching,_

_Inside you forever preaching,_

_Fuck you too._

Gavin was taken aback, and his eyebrows shot up. Smoke billowed before his face, and he grunted, “Nines? What’re you—” In one second, Nines closed the gap between them, and he bit down around the unlit edges of the cigarette. Yanking it back with his own teeth, he snatched it right out of Gavin’s mouth before the man even had a chance to comprehend what had happened.

_Your scream’s a whisper,_

_Hang on, you twisted transistor…_

“Duuude, that was my last cigarette…” Gavin looked disappointed, but Nines merely held the cigarette between his fingers and smirked.

“Too bad, so sad.” Bringing it up to his own lips, he imitated much how humans inhaled. It wasn’t the same for androids, but he mimed smoking as best as he could before putting the burning cigarette out into the ashtray while Gavin pouted in silence.

Nines then stood behind his lover as he stared down at the top of Gavin’s clean dark brown hair, and he whispered into his ears while the music blasted on. “Are you sure you want to do this?”

Shrugging back a little, Gavin shook his head. “Not the whole head, Nines…I don’t think black is my color.”

_Hey you, hey you, finally you get it,_

_The world ain’t fair, eat you if you let it,_

_And as your tears fall on,_

_Your breast, your dress,_

_Vibrations coming through,_

_You’re in a mess…_

Nines gently ran his fingers through Gavin’s hair, and he let out a wistful sigh. “You’re right, but I think we could do with some highlighted tips.” When Gavin eyed him with heavy amounts of concern still tugging at his eyes, Nines suggested, “Just to try it, but it’s your choice.” Wiggling his fingers playfully, while they didn’t have any dye on them, he gently tapped the tip of his partner’s nose in a playful move.

Catching on, Gavin’s brows raised as he gasped, “You mean bleached highlights?”

“Yesss,” Nines was all too eager to purr out his delight.

_A lonely life where no one understands you,_

_But don’t give up because the music do…_

_Music do, music do!_

Gavin chewed his lower lip, freshly shaven face shining and gleaming in the bathroom lights as he thought about it for maybe a minute before his eyes brightened exponentially. “Yeah!” he nodded in glee, “I think we should do it!!”

_Music do, music do!_

_Music do, music do!_

Now, there weren’t any regrets or doubts, and Nines sat him down gently on top of the closed toilet bowl lid while dipping his fingers into the dye. Mixing it quickly, he then grabbed the tiny brush meant for smoothing and applying highlights, and using just the bleach, he applied it onto Gavin’s hair in places he envisioned would look the best. The detective already had such lovely hair, and Nines enjoyed the dark shade. The bleach would no doubt turn into almost platinum blonde, and he himself found that he was very eager for the final product. Dark hair with white pieces was actually a major turn on for him, but he repressed his carnal lust and desires to see Gavin that way. He was already turning into something of a sex freak lately, and he didn’t want to disturb his partner. The last thing he needed was for Gavin to think he was a pervert.

Taking to singing along with the lyrics, Nines began guiding his voice to match the notes and tone of the music quite expertly. It seemed to impress Gavin, and he gasped, “I like your voice, Nines!”

_Hey you, hey you, this won’t hurt a bit!_

_This won’t hurt a bit, this won’t hurt!_

Winking at him, Nines gently elbowed Gavin while studying him intently.

_Says who? Says who?_

_Anesthetize this bitch!_

_Anesthetize this bitch,_

_Anesthetize!_

Hearing the foul, nabalitic words spewing from the radio, as well as from Nines’ mouth, Gavin threw his partner a most unimpressed scowl. “Really?” he scoffed, “what lovely words, man.”

Nines shrugged, “Don’t look at me; I didn’t write them, but I like them.”

_Just let me be between you and me…_

_Don’t fit…_

Instead of thinking about how handsome Gavin was going to look, soon, Nines chose to listen to _Twisted Transistor_ until the track switched to _Coming Undone._ The android got lost to the beat, the tune, the notes, the rhythm, and he began humming, and then fully singing out loud as he carefully applied the bleach.

_Keep holding on,_

_When my brains tickin’ like a bomb…_

He danced back and forth a little as he circled Gavin, and the human snickered as he cried out, “Gotta say, I love your choice in music.” Nodding his head in time with the music very gently, he added, “I didn’t know you listened to Korn, man. Sweet stuff!”

Gently elbowing him, Nines commented, “I’m getting into a lot of things the old me normally wouldn’t be interested in.” Throwing his head back, he continued singing, although louder this time.

_Guess the black thoughts have come again to get me,_

_Sweet bitter words,_

_Unlike nothing I have heard…_

No longer caring how nude he practically was, Nines swished and swayed his body in time with the music, and as he did so, he glanced down at his own chest. He was beginning to wonder just what kind of new tattoos he should get…

“The ‘new you’?” Gavin’s acrimonious question pulled him out of his momentary daydreaming, and their eyes met as Nines deemed that Gavin had enough of the bleach placed onto random bits of his hair. Slowly peeling off the gloves, he tossed them into the trash can as he ran his now gloveless fingers through his own messy, shabby hair.

_Sing along mockingbird,_

_You don’t affect me!_

_That’s right!_

_Deliver it to my heart!_

_Please strike!_

_Be deliberate!_

The new Nines? Yes…the one Gavin himself had been responsible for creating. Nines was both grateful and overburdened by this deleterious fact. A part of himself still churned and burned madly with rage that Gavin had indeed been right; perhaps he was a mimic and completely void of owning any originality for himself.

But was it so bad giving up parts of his reality just to please another??

_Wait,_

_I’m coming undone,_

_Irate,_

_I’m coming undone_

No…perhaps it wasn’t. Seeing Gavin’s smile, hearing his laughter, it was all worth the trouble, and Nines felt he would do it over and over again if needed.

Maybe he would do anything for Gavin, after all.

_Too late,_

_I’m coming undone,_

_What looks so strong, so delicate…_

Remembering Gavin’s question, Nines nodded as he repeated, “The new me; I like the new me. I will admit; change wasn’t something I was fond of, but human interactions and adaptability have rendered me speechless.”

_Especially when it comes to you, Gavin Reed…_

Standing up, Gavin playfully balanced himself on his toes first, and then he leaned down and nuzzled Nines’ shoulder by pressing his chin into the crook of his neck, almost. As they both stared into the empty space of the wall where the mirror should’ve been, they smiled slowly together as one unit.

_Wait,_

_I’m starting to suffocate,_

_And soon I anticipate,_

_I’m coming undone,_

_What looks so strong, so delicate…_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Get more tats, Nines!


	62. Down From the Garden

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nines gets more tats, and a new haircut ;)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Posting this early due to COVID-19 stress and people self-isolating. Don't be too bored, guys! This too shall pass <3  
Stay safe, but also remember to watch out for yourselves and enjoy finding cool things to do.

He’d never been fearful of making such bad impressions, not passing by societal standards, being mocked, or being completely rejected before by humans, especially. Nines never considered himself truly above humans as some arrogant deviant androids did, but he also hadn’t ever really connected with any of them…until now. Gavin Reed hadn’t simply chiseled away at his personality and character just because he could, and just for sport; he seemed to want to go through the cycles of change with Nines completely, and he even opted for changing his own style of dress to better fit Nines’.

This shocked the RK900. He hadn’t expected Gavin to go ‘above’ his ‘expectations’ and be so complaisant, not that he had any rules or expectations set for him that way. Nines wanted nothing more than for Gavin to be himself and to freely express himself without resorting to any conformative methods and measures. Changing his hairstyle had already been enough for the android, but apparently, Gavin thought otherwise and wanted to ‘grow’ with Nines.

As soon as he’d stepped out of the shower and dried his hair off properly, he showed off his ‘icy’, frosted bangs and tips. The white looked amazing against the dark brown, and it softened and evened out Gavin’s skin tone quite nicely. Next, he insisted on wearing black clothes more so than he normally was used to, and Nines knew that it no doubt was a means of Gavin trying to get closer, psychologically and emotionally.

He found he didn’t mind it, as he was going through more changes, himself.

“What kind of tattoos are you thinking of?” Gavin had posed the question for the tenth time already, but Nines hadn’t grown weary of it at all to objurgate his curious lover.

Enjoying his partner’s levels of enthusiasm, Nines pointed at his upper chest first. “I was thinking of perhaps a raven or some other bird of prey, only completely formed in black ink and some shades of grey to go here…” Then, he spun around, and in the center of his back, he tapped once before stating, “I’d like a warning sign or a biohazard sign here, I think. It speaks volumes about how you handle me especially, huh?” Flirtatiously, he tossed a wink at Gavin.

When it was silent and caliginous, Gavin asked, “That it?”

….

“For now,” Nines sighed as he leaned back, “do you want me to be a coloring book or something?”

Snorting, Gavin sat down on the edge of the bed and shrugged. “I just thought skulls and shit would be up your alley more.”

Almost sensually, Nines asked, “Do you like skulls?”

…..

“And dragons…” the detective admitted weakly while blushing furiously, “…don’t judge.”

“I’d never do that.” Sitting down on the edge of the bed beside his lover, Nines stretched himself up as he deactivated the human layer of his skin on both hands. Pale white android hands clasped his chest, and as Gavin watched in awe, a large tattoo slowly spread its way along Nines’ chest. Panning and stretching out from one end of his clavicle to the other, the tattoo sat just beneath it, and it was a dark blotch of black ink that almost looked like it’d been painted on at random. But when Nines slowly removed his hands from his chest, Gavin saw what appeared to be a round shape that was purple in color. The bulbous item sat right in the center of the piece, and the tattoo’s ends trailed off in spiny sticks and thorns that floated over Nines’ white skin.

When he was through with his work, Nines wheezed out with a small smile, “One down…”

Next, he was able to reach up into the middle of his back, almost appearing like a contortionist while Gavin gaped at him. It didn’t take too long for a black biohazard sign to etch its way into the center of his back.

“Two,” Nines purred, and as Gavin still stared at him in shock, he slowly raised his right arm, and deactivated the human layer of skin on the left one already bearing the flames and vines tattoo. However, he trailed his android fingers above his upper arm and biceps, and his eyes met Gavin’s. With a nod, he said, “You want a skull? I’ll give you a fuckin’ skull, babe.”

Like magic, the palm of his hand glowed light blue, and when he made contact with his upper arm, blackness again spread all over his upper arm. Right in the side of his right upper arm, Gavin saw a skull glaring back at him. Despite it having eyes, he felt how angry and raw it was, and he shivered upon looking at it. Then, beneath the skull, another long pattern trailed downwards until it rested just above Nines’ elbow. When Gavin tilted his head in the right way and leaned back, he saw that it was the long tail of a primordial dragon. Its barbed tail flicked down past the skull, and altogether, it was a beautiful sight to see on Nines’ arm.

Clapping his hands, Gavin cried out in awe, “Holy shit!! You’ve got sleeves now, Nines!!”

Dropping his hands to his sides, now, Nines’ human skin returned, and the android saw relief flooding over his partner’s face. He couldn’t blame him for being mildly disturbed over it all, but a reserved part of Nines still burned a little when he caught Gavin staring at his hands almost in fear. It seemed as though the detective had either still not really accepted the fact that his lover was an android, or he just wasn’t comfortable around androids in general. Whatever the case happened to be, Nines didn’t want it to be a bother. As importunate as his personal thoughts were, they had to get ready to see Gavin’s mother. This was the goal and the target, as was Gavin’s happiness as far as his psychological state was concerned.

Hands flicking up to his own hair, Nines mumbled, “New Year new me? Is that how it all goes?”

Gavin shrugged, “So you’re a meme now, Nines? Great.”

Chuckling, Nines shook his hair. “No, I just mean that since you changed your hair, I want to do it, too.” The hairstyle he had in mind pre-set was good enough for himself, but he still needed Gavin’s word before he went ahead and did something he knew he couldn’t go back on later.

Turning towards Gavin, he exclaimed, “I was thinking of a mohawk…what do you think?”

Gavin gasped, but then cut himself off. Frowning, he rubbed his chin and cheeks while his eyes skimmed through Nines’ hair. “A mohawk? Are you tired of this style already?”

“Yes,” Nines answered in complete honesty, “this current hairstyle is just bothering me.” He wasn’t sure why it was, but it really had been the case. Thankfully, Gavin seemed to understand, and he leaned back and nodded while his eyes clouded over in deep thought.

“Hmm,” he hummed on a deep, calefacient note, “usually, a mohawk is kinda meant to be extremely bizarre and an unruly hairstyle.” He pointed out factually, “I’ve seen some goths and punks pulling it off, but are you thinking of going for completely shaved head and mohawk on top like old school style???”

No…that would be too weird.

Shaking his head as his face scrunched up, Nines answered swiftly, “No, I’m going for a more ‘modern’ look, and I know that there are many different manners in which men could rock a mohawk.” Apparently, Gavin thought the word ‘rock’ was appropriate in this case, and he smirked in amusement.

Nodding, he folded his arms across his chest as he answered, “Okay, Nines, I mean, you _can_ wear a mohawk casually and formally, you know. It doesn’t have to be in the ways of…well…” he blushed deeply, “…you know!”

The way a pusillanimous Gavin reacted suggested that it was impracticable to slender the hairstyle to an incomplete spectrum. The hairstyle could indeed be worn casually and formally. There were a number of ways to try it, but Nines knew that he was ‘limited’ in certain ways. Rising from the bed, he walked over into the bathroom, and opened the cupboards and drawers of the vanity. Fishing out a pair of scissors, and a razor, he turned around and held the items up before Gavin when the shorter male walked in as well.

Pacing out of the bathroom towards the kitchen, Nines found a relatively ‘free’ spot. In front of his large, rectangular windows, now, he pushed aside some of his potted plants so more sunlight could stream into the kitchen. “I only get one shot at this,” he announced to Gavin, “I can’t grow hair like humans can, so once this is done, it’s—”

“It’s here to stay,” Gavin completed, and nodded as he stood back and watched.

Nines sat himself down on a chair, and once he made sure he had an idea of the hairstyle, he set the scissors down onto the table next to himself. It was going to be quite tricky without the use of a mirror, but his hands were programmed to follow the style once he’d ‘envisioned’ and set it in his mind.

Turning on the razor, he skated it over the sides of his head slowly, though he made sure he hadn’t completely shaved off the temples. At least two inches of black hair still stood up, as he didn’t want to look ‘bald’. The rest of his hair was buzzed very short over the sides, and he guided the razor upward to the narrow. Now, the scissors came in handy, and as he ran his fingers over the areas that stood out unevenly, he snipped them off. Gavin nodded and gave him a thumbs-up, letting him know that so far, he was doing things properly. All he had to do now was fashion the rest of his hair into a V-shaped type patch towards the top. When it was all done, he turned off the razor, and he brushed off his shoulders and nape the few bits of hair that had yet to fall down to the floor. Not too much hair rested down at his feet, thankfully, but gone was the shabby fringe hair, and now, Nines had a decent and professional-looking mohawk.

Smiling at Gavin while he continued to brush himself off, he asked, “Well?”

His partner beamed at him and only said, “It really suits you better; your cheek bones and eyes stand out, but…” His voice atrociously trailed off, and Nines leaned into him.

“But?”

Playfully winking at him, Gavin answered jokingly, “How about some piercings?”

Nines reached out and gently swatted Gavin on the shoulder. “No, Gavin.”

“Not even one?”

“Nope.”

“…Please?”

Closing his eyes and shaking his head, Nines replied in a fremescent manner, “Never, Gavin.”

Pouting, Gavin sighed, “I hate you.”

“No, you don’t.”

…..

“Okay, I don’t.”

“Damn fucking right.”

*x*x*x*x*x*

They were going to ‘surprise’ Carrie Moser. Apparently, due to easy commute, Gavin informed Nines that his mother lived quite close to Fordham University where she taught and managed her research. There were lovely homes and townhouses close to the University, more so meant for students. Gavin’s mother owned one, and she often rented it out to her graduate students for the summer.

Once Gavin provided him with the address, Nines drove them both towards her residence. It would take almost over half an hour of a drive, but Nines didn’t mind it. He drove while dressed in a black, clean vest with a red tie bearing small black roses on it. Instead of jeans, he had on black dress pants, and Gavin actually had almost identical looking pants on, though he opted for a black sweater on his upper torso. He was nervous, as Nines could tell, though he tried hiding it by searching through his phone for new, eximious hairstyles and distinguished clothing designs.

Shaking his phone at Nines, he randomly revealed a picture of a middle-aged man rocking a swasivious, punk look. “Should I try this, Nines?” he asked shyly, “I wanna look like you, maybe…”

Frowning mildly, Nines whispered, “What’s wrong with how you are, now?”

For some reason, that was a question his partner didn’t seem to want to answer. Instead, he took to studying images on his phone again, and he even turned to stare out the window afterwards. Unable to bear the silence, Nines sighed, “Did you try calling your mother again? Just to let her know we’re on our way just in case she chooses not to want to be surprised?”

A worried look crossed Gavin’s face before he whispered, “I’ve done that twice, now, and she’s still not responding.”

The tension was high and steadily rising. Gavin didn’t need to say anything else for Nines to understand how he felt. All the android did to try and appease his lover was to drive on through the highway just a little faster in the hopes that it would comfort Gavin knowing that they would arrive at their destination, soon. They passed by mountains of snow on either side of the huge highway, and as the wind lightly blew outside, Nines turned up the heat in the car just a bit more. Gavin was already shivering, though he suspected it wasn’t just from the cold temperature, alone.

Gavin later turned on the radio, fidgeted in his seat, and tried taking a nap. It was all to no avail; however, he couldn’t get comfortable, and he chose to remain silent while Nines drove on. They nearly reached the campus of Fordham University by four-forty p.m. on December 31st, but when Gavin’s stomach kept growling, Nines insisted they stop somewhere for supper a bit earlier than usual. The android drove them to a small burger restaurant, and through the drive-thru, he ordered Gavin a small burger and fries. Strangely, the detective only managed to eat half of it.

Lutulent nerves. Nines knew how nervous Gavin was, so he assured his partner that they were on the way to see Carrie, now.

Without even stopping for anything else, Nines drove on for almost seven minutes, when Gavin leapt up in his seat and pointed towards the left. “There!! Nines!! Nines!!” His hand nearly smashed into Nines’ nose, but the alert android slowed down and was almost about to park the car beside the curb, when Gavin had already unbuckled his seatbelt and was opening the car door.

“Hey!! Gavin!! We’re still moving! What the hell?!” He watched in pure fright as Gavin practically rolled out of the car and ran towards his mother’s front porch. Parking the car and turning off the engine quickly, Nines hissed to himself, “God fucking damn it!!” He was feeling stressed out himself, which really wasn’t a good thing. At least one of them had to remain calm, and he wasn’t going to ask Gavin to be that way when he was concerned for his elderly mother.

Before he knew what had happened, he floated practically towards Gavin, and he stood at his side while Gavin rang his mother’s doorbell a few times, and then pounded on the front door with both clenched fists. He beat the red colored door hurriedly, screaming out for his mother over and over again. A few people were walking their dogs outside on the sidewalks, and they gaped in shock at the commotion Gavin caused. This pissed Nines right off, and he turned and snarled at them all equally.

“The fuck are you all looking at?!” Immediately, the dogs whined and cried, and a few of them yanked their owners ahead on their leashes. His vitriolic display did the trick; people soon dispersed and stopped peeking in on them as if they were circus freaks new to town.

Gavin gently rasped, “Thanks for that. Fuckers are annoying sometimes!”

“It’s probably my hair,” Nines partly joked, but Gavin didn’t seem to appreciate that.

Glaring, he hissed and objurgated, “That’s _not_ funny.”

A sibilant hiss in return came from Nines, before the susurrus of the wind rustling in the background took over. He had nothing to say, but he waited patiently next to Gavin as he scanned the interior of the house. Gavin must’ve sensed him doing this, for he leaned against him and asked, “Is she home?”

Nines nodded slowly as he constated, “Yes, I can see and sense her now, and—” As he’d been in the middle of relaying to Gavin what he’d seen, his eyes grew terribly wide, and his LED light spun red. Peeking into the glass insert as best as he could, Gavin missed Nines’ reaction.

“It’s dark inside…”

Suddenly, the lock clicked loudly, and then the door slowly squeaked open. Gavin was holding his breath, and next to him, Nines’ LED light was still blaring red. However, it ceased doing so when the door opened up further to reveal Carrie Moser’s concerned-yet exhausted-face. She peered up at them with tired eyes that were sunken in and almost hallowed in appearance. There were deep, dark bags beneath her eyes, and in Nines’ opinion, she seemed as if she’d ether not slept properly in months, or it seemed as if she’d aged by ten years, at least. Her hair seemed shiny, but it was almost far _too_ shiny and perfectly combed…

Her skin seemed gaunt with a touch of yellow all around, and her cheeks lacked any rosy glow. It seemed as if all the blood in her body wasn’t flowing…as such, the way she gripped the side of the door portrayed the fact that she couldn’t stand up too well on her own. The feeble old woman even had a cane resting against the banister behind herself.

Gavin eyed her with absolute horror. His jaw fell, and a strained squeak escaped from him. “Mom?! What’s happened to you?!” Boldly, he took a step forward, and then glared at her cane. Shoulders drew up as his tension reached an explosive level. “This damn thing again!? You don’t need it!!”

The door swung open the rest of the way, and Gavin stormed inside her home without an invitation. Heading towards the cane, he swiped it into both hands while Carrie screamed at him.

“Don’t! Gavin! Put it down!!” She tried waving her arms up and down at him, though it wasn’t any use as far as stopping him or catching his attention was concerned. Gavin went right on ahead and chucked the cane as far down the hall as he could. This caused his mother to scream as she held her face in her hands and wept. “GAVIN! LEAVE IT ALONE!!” she wailed louder and louder, and it sounded like she was being slaughtered.

Knowing how quickly they could draw unwanted attention, Nines stepped inside the abode as well, and then shut the door tightly behind himself. When Carrie nearly crumbled down to the floor weakly, Nines darted forward, and with his super quick reflexes, he held her tightly in his arms. Cradling her carefully to his chest, he sneered at Gavin as he chided him, “Gavin! What the hell’s wrong with you! Your mother’s freaking out here!!”

Tugging his blonde-highlighted hair almost desperately in between white fingers, Gavin gritted his teeth together while pacing nervously back and forth, up and down her hall. The lights were on upstairs and further into the house, thankfully, which suggested that she’d been home resting prior to their ‘violent’ entry.

While Carrie trembled and sobbed down against Nines on the floor, Gavin whimpered, “She’s got a cane again, Nines! Why the fuck does she have a—”

“Never mind why!” came the boisterous interruption out of the trenchant android glaring into Gavin’s eyes madly. “The important thing we need to do now is help get your mother into bed because she’s unwell!!” As he stood brusquely while draping her arm over his shoulder, Gavin quickly ran to their aid. Wrapping his own arms around his mother, he whispered many words of sorrow, regret, and atonement, but Carrie seemed to persist with her unstoppable tears and sobbing.

Together, both Gavin and Nines helped take her upstairs, though the entire journey along, they couldn’t help but feel insurmountable, caustic concern and overwhelming, forthright doom flooding inside their minds and hearts alike.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ...I literally am torn apart by Carrie and what's going on with her :(


	63. Midnight Roses

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How do I deal with boredom during the quarantine?  
Writing and expanding my lung capacity.

Nines grabbed the fresh cup of tea and placed it in a serving tray while Gavin stood by with his arms crossed thickly across his chest. His eyes were pink, and the veins were showing, which alerted Nines to the troublesome fact that Gavin was bottling in a lot of his anger and diogenic stress. Stirring the sugar cubes into the cup so they could melt nicely, Nines offered him a cup, but Gavin refused. It appeared he was adamant on remaining splenitive and ill-mannered as ever, though Nines couldn’t blame him after everything that had befallen Gavin.

Having nothing to say, Nines didn’t push the issue, and he carried the fancy silver tray up the stairs quietly. The faint sounds of footsteps lingering behind himself told him that Gavin was trailing behind almost reluctantly. Nines could practically see the shorter male now as he hid in the shadows in the upstairs hallway while Nines finally made it over into Carrie’s bedroom. Her library and research office were located on either side of her bedroom, and she was nestled cozily in the center on top of a large four-poster bed. The sheets were satin and pure white and cream colored, and they matched her gold and white curtains which had been partly drawn to let in the dark evening sky. Carrie wasn’t moving, but both Nines and Gavin could hear her breathing as she curled deeper within her thick, warm blankets.

Across the hall from her bedroom were two student rooms she typically rented out, but for now, they were empty and quite vacant, save for a bed and a standing closet in each one. The whole house seemed so empty and lonely, even though she had a lot of her own books, personal items, entertainment sets, exercise equipment, musical instruments, as well as collections of arts and crafts strewn about randomly for décor more than anything else.

It felt way too eerie and lonesome in this house, and Nines had to truly stand back and wonder how it came to be that Gavin ever was comfortable with leaving his mother here in the first place. No human being could survive this way on their own! Hell, not even one of his plants, could! Majority of the blinds and curtains had been pulled down over each and every window in the hall, and even though it was nighttime, Nines had scanned residue of dust and debris all over the windows. It was all caked over, practically, hinting and implying that Carrie often had her blinds down. This woman wasn’t receiving much sunlight, warmth, and attention from her own son.

But how was this any of his business?? Where was his place in all this? Who was he?!

If he even opened his mouth, both Gavin and his mother could fire back with the classic: ‘None of your damn business’. And they would be well within their rights to say that; it really _wasn’t_ his business. He wasn’t married to Gavin; he was engaged to him-technically, and he wasn’t that close to his family members. As far as Dr. Moser was concerned, he was a ‘fake’ partner, and to Nines’ darker, more cynical perspectives, they were just sex friends; nothing more, nothing less.

…..

But he wanted more from Gavin…he really wanted that more than anything else in the whole world.

Feeling his partner stirring and spinning around in small half-circles, Nines eyed Gavin cautiously while blowing gently over the surface of the tea. His spoon mixed the sugar well, and he sat down on the edge of Dr. Moser’s bed while peering down at her. Pulling the sheets down to reveal her face nuzzling her fluffy white pillow, he whispered, “Dr. Moser? I’ve brought you some tea.”

Gavin’s feet pounded hurriedly towards them, and before Nines could catch it all by eye alone, the detective had snatched the teacup right out of his fingers. Holding the cup against his chest, he balanced it before removing the spoon from it. Handing it to Nines, he gently massaged his mother’s left shoulder as he spoke to her softly. “Mom?” he began in a faint, ghostly whisper of a tone, “Nines brought you some tea…you should have some.”

A thin, bony hand slid up over the covers. With a half-angry grunt, Carrie waved Gavin off as she hissed in pain, “No, I don’t want it!!” For an elderly lady sick in bed, she sure had her burst of strength. Her arm shot out, and she slapped the teacup away. It nearly soared out of Gavin’s hand, but he gripped the handle tightly and didn’t let it go.

Snarling, he hissed and spat, “You have to drink it, mom!”

Arguing back, she pushed her hair away from her eyes and cried, “You deaf?! I said I don’t want—”

Taking the cup out of Gavin’s hands, Nines took a calmer approach. First, he muttered at Gavin scornfully, “Yelling and screaming’s not going to solve anything, Gavin.” Smiling at Carrie, when she made eye contact with him accidentally, Nines held her gaze. She initially frowned at him as if seeing him for the first time, and then her nostrils flared.

“You…”

“Shh,” he purred at her, “get some warmth in yourself, Dr. Moser.” Pushing the tea gently into her hands, he watched as she wrapped her stick-like fingers around the cup. He helped her sit up in bed slowly, adjusting her pillow so it was tucked behind her back. Her cheeks were sunken in and her nose seemed so hooked and huge as it took up most of the space on her tiny face.

He made sure however that he reserved his judgements while he made sure she was comfortable enough. Her eyes swept over the room quickly, and then finally landed on Gavin standing near one of her night tables. Motioning for him, she wheezed, “Gavin?”

At once, he was at her side. “Mom? Mom! Tell me what you want!!”

While holding onto her teacup, she gazed at him and slowly smiled. Leaning close to his ear, Nines first thought she was going in for a close, welcoming embrace, but then she went and surprised him.

Instead, she whispered haughtily in Gavin’s ear, “Bring Napoleon up here.”

The look on Gavin’s face was more than just disappointment; he was broken. His eyes twitched, his nostrils flared, his chest rose and fell, and his lips quirked before he gasped, “N-Napoleon?!”

She nodded, and then Gavin roared, “The fucking dog?! You care about the damn dog more than me?!” Before he could aim a powerful kick at the bedpost, Nines raced ahead and stopped him. Pulling back on his lover’s shoulders, he reminded his partner to stay as calm as he could. Gavin struggled a little, but when Nines gave him a look that seemed to say: ‘enough is enough’, he ceased all movement.

Carrie leaned her head back against her pillow, and her eyes slowly closed before she smiled contently. “I just need him to stay at my side a little…please.”

Hurriedly, Nines pulled Gavin out of Carrie’s bedroom, and they both set out to retrieve the Great Dane. If Nines noticed how stiffly Gavin was walking, he was wise enough not to utter a word about it, at least not until the right time presented itself.

*x*x*x*x*x*

Carrie Moser had fallen into a deep, comfortable sleep shortly after Napoleon joined her in her room. The dog appeared to know what his master wanted, and he leapt up on her bed to join her loyally while licking Carrie’s hand in a gesture of affection and comfort. Nines made sure Carrie had finished her tea before he collected the cup and accompanied Gavin downstairs in one of the guest rooms. It wasn’t a completely barren room, but the furnishings were rather old fashioned in comparison to the rest of the house. Old speakers, radios, TV sets, tables, chairs, desks, and one ceiling fan took up space in the light blue colored room. Gavin was sitting by a book nook close to one of the frost-covered windows, and he was chewing on his index finger while glaring ahead.

Nines gently pulled Gavin’s hand away from his mouth, “Don’t do that.”

Sighing, Gavin tucked his hands beneath himself as he whispered almost regretfully, “Sorry. Force of habit.”

“It’s alright.” Nines sat by Gavin’s feet, listening to the snowstorm raging on outside. After they’d arrived at Carrie’s home, news reports of a terrifyingly harsh, cold winter storm came out. Everyone was warned to stay inside until mid-afternoon of January 1st, when the storm would die down, supposedly.

Outside, the wind howled like a beast crying out for blood and vengeance, and just listening to it made Nines feel so grateful that they’d beaten the storm and were already safely indoors.

“I can’t believe she fuckin’ wanted to have that damn mutt at her side instead of her own kid. Fuckin’ bitch.”

His LED light beamed red, and before Nines knew it, he’d stiffly turned his head over to scowl heatedly at Gavin. The detective shrank from the smoldering look, but didn’t retort or argue otherwise.

Sneering, Nines snapped mordantly, “Gavin, did it ever occur to you that perhaps that canine is her ‘comfort pet’? Hmm?” Cocking his head angrily, he added, “Perhaps that Great Dane is the only thing she has considering how you’re not with her and her husband—”

Pain. That was all they both felt, but Nines felt it the worst. It surged and burned through himself, and he reeled over as he placed a hand over his chest. Was his thirium pump working??!? Quickly, after running a self-diagnostic, he found that everything was in perfect working condition.

But then why was he feeling so conflicted?! He truly felt like someone had tied his arms and legs up, and then had gotten wild horses to drag and tug each of his limbs in opposite directions until they were severed from his body.

It hurt…

Gavin’s eyes turned pink, and all he whispered was, “I’m cold, Nines.”

“I…I understand…” If he could breathe, he’d be struggling to catch his breath for sure, now.

Sniffling, Gavin straightened his posture before drawing the curtains down over the window next to the book nook. Stretching out his legs, he sighed as he rested his hands in his lap. “I was planning on spending New Year’s with my mom,” with a snort, he gestured around the room, “look what that turned into, huh?”

Shaking his head in disapproval, Nines offered, “You can still spend tomorrow with her. It’s not even ten right now, so it’s probably better for you to get some early rest and then enjoy the day with your mother.”

When he made to stand up, Gavin grabbed onto his pants and tugged him back down. Gazing intently at his lover, Nines whispered, “What is it?”

A very innocent and shy look crossed over Gavin’s features, and as he blushed deeper than Nines had ever seen him blush, the tip of his pink tongue darted out between his lips and wet them both. Nervously, he breathed, “Can you…can you maybe…spend the night with me, Nines?”

Very carefully, Nines replied, “I _am_ with you, Gavin.” There was an odd sensation creeping into his system right then, and Nines had an inkling that the type of company Gavin was requesting wasn’t strictly platonic. For once, he hoped he was wrong.

Frowning as though to prove the point going against what Nines had just uttered, Gavin supplied in a rough, raw tone, “I don’t know why, b-but I kind of need you, Nines…” His breath trickled down Nines’ neck, and the android gazed up immediately. He found that Gavin was relatively closer to him than he’d have liked. Eyes glazing over in want and desire, Gavin again repeated, “I _need_ you, Nines…can you help me with that?”

So it turned out he wasn’t just a pervert. This relieved the RK900 greatly, but he was also worried when Gavin almost crawled over his lap wildly. Pushing his partner down, he sternly grunted, “Gavin, stop it. Remember where we are, for fuck’s sake.”

That didn’t seem to knock any sense into Gavin, and he purred lazily while wrapping his arms around Nines’ neck. “My mom’s asleep, Nines,” he pointed out as he stared up at the ceiling, “her bedroom door’s closed, and I promise I’ll be extra quiet this time.”

When Gavin’s lips met his neck, Nines closed his eyes and tried pulling away. “Gavin,” he warned in a deep growl, “I’m not going to do anything as long as we’re under your mother’s roof. Please, be sensible about this!”

The other male suddenly pulled away from him, then, but Nines’ troubles didn’t end there. He watched as Gavin licked his sanguineous lips and his eyes were dark and lustful. Given how his lover was staring at him, he recalled the sensation of his cock being buried to the hilt a few times in Gavin’s hot wet throat, and then deeply inside his body. To Nines’ horrified fascination, Gavin leaned back, shrugged, and played it cool, but there remained a hint of a clairvoyant message in the name of lust and desire chillingly in the center of Gavin’s blue-grey hues. 

It was quite obvious that he was teasing and cajoling his android lover. He was acting coyly, and he sighed as he tapped a finger. “That’s too bad, Nines,” he purred out before slowly turning and winking sexually and lewdly at his lover. “I was just thinkin’ about how fuckable you really are…” the male concluded, eyes raking down over Nines’ body so sensually that the insatiable android practically felt it.

“Too bad.”

Gavin got up and walked quite slowly towards the door, but halfway across the room, he turned and peered over his shoulder at Nines. The android was already gazing longingly at his lover, and he was unable to look elsewhere.

Their eyes met right away on a deeper level, and no words had to be spoken any longer.

*x*x*x*x*x*

Nines bent Gavin roughly over the back of the long black sofa in the room. The lights were all off, and as Gavin arched himself against Nines, the android’s cock rammed into the detective’s wet heat harshly. Nines heard how his lover shrieked in pain and surprise when he went in as far as possible, balls slapping against Gavin’s ass obscenely. The human’s eyes went huge and he grabbed at Nines tighter while the android slammed him into the back of the sofa potently.

Nines listened to Gavin moan out while he snaked a hand over and toyed with Gavin’s erection for a few seconds. Leaning over Gavin, he saw the shorter man biting his lip hard to keep quiet. Nines drank in the sight of Gavin trying to repress his cries greedily, and as a result, his cock inside of his partner started to thrust hard and fast back and forth, quickly turning into something more vicious and frantic. Nines’ LED light was red, and his caliginous blue eyes went wide in shock as he fucked Gavin ruthlessly. Watching as the detective’s body jerked back and forth against the sofa as his core was penetrated, Nines hissed as he went crazy from the sight of it alone.

Quickly, he gripped Gavin by the back of the neck, and he tossed him down onto the seats of the sofa for deeper penetration, if possible. Both men had their eyes closed while Nines gripped his partner around the waist, startled when he felt the house shaking as the wind blew wildly outside. Snow hit the windows, and tiny hissing and cracking noises emanated all throughout the room save for Gavin’s soft moans and panting. Nines felt the inner darkness he’d held back on and repressed for so long finally freed and shadows he’d worked so hard on suppressing all this time surging forth like a volcanic eruption. Bubbling furiously beneath the surface, it eventually gathered, growing in multitude. Finally, it exploded out anytime he moved his hips into Gavin’s. They slithered all over the shorter man’s body, caressing and binding him to the android tightly as he rammed into his lover, a snarl in the human’s ear as he grazed his teeth dangerously and playfully over Gavin’s earlobe. Teasing and toying with the globe of flesh for a moment, Nines leaned in harder, caging Gavin’s smaller body beneath his own.

The android didn’t run out of stamina, but he knew his lover was. As such, Nines tried desperately to keep his mesquin pounding and thrusting to a minimum as he fucked his partner, but it didn’t last long. Gavin felt too good, and soon, he was lost. His movements were becoming more frantic, hard and feral, a snarl ripping from his throat and kept going. He felt absolutely driven to devour the human male, and Gavin’s whimpers of lust and pain made the male android go wild. His cock went in deeply as he leaned over Gavin’s smaller frame. In a move of utter passion, Nines looped Gavin’s ankles about his backside, and pulled his arms around his neck. Gavin’s shrieked as Nines suddenly got up, and he turned them both around. Now, he was down on the sofa seats and rolling onto his back.

The brunette male was stunned as he found himself the one on top, his lover’s length still thrusting swiftly inside, moving into an almost inhuman speed. Little bursts of pleasure were burning all over Gavin’s skin and through his body, making his shiver and moan. It was so intense, that the human felt like crying! He wailed out for Nines, but the android clamped a hand over Gavin’s mouth to silence him. Soon, Gavin’s body was pinned down by Nines. The android felt the need to change positions again, it seemed. They’d tumbled down to the floor, and Gavin was now beneath his huge body and it was rather painful. For every powerful thrust Nines delivered into Gavin’s tight channel, the ardent detective’s head was pressed beneath his chin. Nines’ arms came up over Gavin’s waist and his upper back and they were like steel bands as the android drove harshly into Gavin’s sensitive flesh. 

Biting down on his tongue, and then lips, Gavin was struggling. Observing his lover suffering, Nines groaned deeply, and as a result, Gavin whimpered out, blue eyes rolling back into his head as the exquisite sensation suddenly exploded inside of him.

Nines lifted himself up, hips pressing into Gavin wildly as he turned his lover around. They both were on their knees, and Gavin’s hands latched onto the edges of the seats of the sofa while Nines slammed into him from behind continuously. Peering down at where they were connected, Nines took his time to admire Gavin’s toned ass. There was a need to suddenly swat the flesh, and Nines gave into his mordacious instincts. Once-just to test it out-he slapped Gavin’s ass firmly and awaited a reaction. The one he’d received was rather pleasant; a deep, throaty moan. Wanting to hear it all over again, he again spanked Gavin while still thrusting deeply into him, and strangely, it caused Gavin to cachinnate. Nines didn’t care about that. Not wanting to cause Gavin pain, however, he ceased the spanking quickly, and resumed thrusting hard and short with his length into the detective’s warm, delicious core. Nines nearly came apart at the seams when he felt his partner’s inner muscles gripping his cock almost painfully as Gavin orgasmed.

It was already too loud.

With a roar, Nines rolled back over, crushing the human into the carpet as he climaxed, pressing in deeply and almost smothering the shorter male under his larger frame. Writhing beneath him, Gavin’s moans were muffled, as his face was pressed into the dark carpet. Not wanting his lover to suffocate, Nines turned Gavin’s head, and he pressed his face into his own chest. The RK900 made sure his body wrapped tightly about Gavin so he couldn’t get away. As the tremors passed, Nines eyed Gavin’s face twisting into sheer pleasure and amazement as the android’s cock kept hard and driving into the aroused detective deeply.

The softer side of Nines had once again vanished, leaving only his darkness, kippage and hunger. It gave him a thrill of mingled excitement and fear to know that Gavin was able to see a beast behind his gaze, eyes almost glowing and teeth bared. The other male gasped out and his face turned to the side, mouth against Nines’ shoulder as he rested his full weight onto Nines. Cradling the detective close to his upper body, Nines leaned back to rest on his arms. His hips met Gavin’s harshly, penetrating inside so far in that the android thought something within Gavin was going to rip. However, Gavin seemed to be able to take it all while he tried to focus his glazed cerulean eyes as the pleasure kept going, body rocking madly against the floor. Staring deeply into his eyes, Nines soon found himself snarling out, his thrusts becoming shorter and harder. 

“Mmm, Nines?” Gavin whispered, confused, turned on and in a delicious pain that made his lover nearly scream in pleasure. Nines made sure to silence his next words with a deep, passionate kiss.

Truthfully, Gavin Reed was driving him crazy, and he had no idea what to do. The human knew he was being used, ridden hard by the RK900 pinning him to the floor, then against the sofa again, and he could only hold on desperately as he completely allowed Nines to take over.

With a frightening roar, Nines pulled out for a moment, and then fell back onto the floor. Pulling Gavin down with himself, he helped his partner mount him, and he then started thrusting his cock back inside. Unable to help it, Gavin screamed loudly at the hard, ruthless penetration. Nines snarled out, hot breath in Gavin’s ear as he started to move his hand up and down his lover’s second erection. His movements were possessive, hard and vicious, pressing in deeply with every thrust.

The two men fell into a silence, punctuated only by growls, harsh breathing and moans.

Soon, they were moving together fast, using hypnotic speed, with Gavin shrieking vigorously at the pain and pleasure until his body bowed up and climax raced through his blood like fire.

Nines found himself following, his hard length driving brutally into the human as he thrust and shunted up at a specific angle. He knew the spot he was aiming for so well, going deeper at each drive of his hips. Without much of a warning, he spilled his seed, arms bruising Gavin’ hips and his legs. The detective’s arms hung helplessly at both sides of his own body as Nines drove in over and over, bringing them to release again only a few moments later.

Finally, Nines saw Gavin collapsing. Breathlessly, he began panting and gasping, every so often filling the room with his depraved mussitation. The feeling of the human’s breast heaving against his chest and thirium pump was enough to drive the deprived android insane with want, but he held himself back for both their sakes. While snow blew over the windows and coated them unforgivingly, Nines rolled over and gently dislodged Gavin’s legs from his sides. The shadows of the moon and snow were slowly dispelling, and the night was calm again.

When Nines gently pulled himself out of Gavin’s body, he saw the other male wince. He cursed under his breath for hurting his lover. Gavin may not have been a virgin, and this wasn’t the first time they’d had sex, but that wasn’t an excuse for taking Gavin like some rabid, pyrexical beast!

Plenty of guilt ran through himself as Nines whispered, “Gavin? Are you alright?” Checking Gavin’s body quickly, one of his hands rested along his partner’s face to cup it soothingly and warmly.

He found that Gavin was rather pale, and a simple scan told him that his partner’s body ached horribly in places, but overall, he was totally satisfied, sexually. The pleasure had been absolutely mind-bending, and he wanted to feel it again…and again. Nines wanted it, too. With him; with Gavin.

“I…” Gavin wheezed, an enervated hand coming up to his throat as he cleared it before muttering in a rough, gravelly tone, “I f-feel w-wonderful.” He regulated his breaths, a smile spreading over his face.

For a moment, Nines felt incredulity over the situation and his lack of control, but then delight washed over him. Naturally, his lips sought out Gavin’s, and the android kissed his lover hard and possessively.

He had but one burning question for Gavin, but he figured it could wait until the morning.


	64. Today’s Pain, Yesterday’s Memories

What did majority of volitient humans do on New Year’s Day? From what he’d observed since being released from CyberLife, it was a day that was highly commercialized and celebrated. Humans were often quite loud and verbose about New Year’s plans, and it was a bright, joyous celebration for many. Everyone however seemed to celebrate the day in their own unique way. The DPD craved variety in the manner that during the start of the year 2039, there was a boisterous, colorful party hosted. For the following year, there wasn’t a party, however. 

Nines hadn’t particularly cared one way or the other what humans did, and seeing as he’d never before had any emotional bonds and connections reserved and associated with holidays, it never troubled him. It never tickled any of his fancies either way...until most recently. He wasn’t in a position where he could think and decide for himself anymore; he had a partner to care for, and his partner was currently worried about his own mother. Any decision Nines made, he had to go about with caution while thinking of how it would affect two other people.

This was what had inspired him to prepare breakfast for both Carrie and Gavin while Gavin helped take his mother to the bathroom so she could wash up for the day. Although Nines heard Carrie screaming about how she wasn’t a ‘damn invalid’, she eventually descended the steps with Gavin closely behind until they both entered the warm kitchen. 

Greeting Carrie with a bright smile and a “Happy New Year, Dr. Moser,” Nines ignored how she quickly scowled at him before pointing back at her son.

“Is this _your _handiwork then, Nines?” scoffing, she shook her head, and then ran her fingers through Gavin’s ice-white hair tips. “I see you’ve _both_ changed your appearances.” 

While Gavin guided her to a seat at the transparent, shiny glass kitchen table, Napoleon wandered into the room as well, no doubt following his nose trailing the sweet-scented human food billowing about.

Addressing him, Carrie muttered shortly, “Napoleon!! Look!! Nines is not only wearing more eyeliner than I do on a daily basis, but he’s also encouraged my son to look the part of a damn gay guy!!” 

Blinking at her in pure, flinty anger, the steam practically rose off Gavin’s shoulders as he sniped, “That has nothing to do with Nines because I _am_ gay!!”

This emotional, indecorous outburst baffled Nines to no end. While he’d already grown accustomed to playing the role of Gavin’s fiancé, he’d always assumed that it was specifically for the purposes of the chicanery. Gavin had never admitted anything in regard to his sexuality aside from the time he’d heavily and importunately insisted upon only being sexually attracted to women. 

So what was the meaning of this, then?! Was it a true moment of self-actualization?! Was he waking up to the harshness of their reality? Or was this perhaps a knackish game meant to only leave Nines as mollified as ever??

Nines genuinely found himself clinging onto the sthenic idea that it wasn’t anything as he feared. Relying on a sliver of hope and a personal wish was all he had to remain sane and calm.

Carrie only rolled her slightly pink eyes at his response, while Napoleon lay his head loyally in her lap. Stroking the top of her pet’s skull, she hissed icily at Gavin, “Believe me, after unfortunately hearing what I heard you two getting up to the other night, I don’t need further convincing of your newfound proclivities, Gavin.” Saluting him sarcastically, she finished, “I’m happy for you, honestly.” 

Nodding firmly, Gavin spoke back solidly, “Good.”

Previously, anytime Nines had ever heard of humans and the occasional deviant android talking about experiencing a moment in their lives where they’d ‘died on the inside’, he’d considered it to be pure bullshit and nothing but a wild exaggeration. Never had he expected to identify with such a feeling, and never did he think he’d actually go through it. Yet, he assuredly had, and right about now.

Something internally broke, fell apart, and then ‘died’. Nines could feel pain, but also sheer coldness and numbness as he gaped away at Gavin weakly. Words were lost to him; all manners of speech, of thought, of reasoning, of feeling had flitted away and disappeared. Instead, it had all been replaced by what truly felt like a huge, gaping gash right in the center of his chest. He was even tempted to check whether someone had speared him through with a few harpoons the longer he tossed back Gavin’s words from the other night.

…..

So that’s what last night had been about? The one and only purpose of their intimate encounter had been nothing but a play and a plan in order for Carrie to listen to it? That’s how meaningless he was to Gavin?? A tool in the grand scheme of Gavin’s agenda?! 

…..

But of course...that’s how this entire premise was set up from the get-go. Nines had been the faulty fool at heart for getting his feelings involved in this. From the very beginning, Gavin had been quite forward and clear about what it was he’d wanted. Along the way, the detective had only experienced confusion borne from shared living accommodations, as well as routine interactions vaguely mirroring intimacy and high value-depth. None of the feelings he claimed to have for Nines were real and genuine; it was all a natural state of psychological confusion conceived and borne from the length of time they’d spent together. Why had he ever thought there was more to it? How could he have been so damn blind to make such a mistake?! 

A fucking mistake that a twenty-one-year-old made, no less...

Foolishness...absolute foolishness. There was no excuse. Gavin had always been using him from the beginning, and the sooner he leaned that, the better off they would both be.

He was rudely pulled out of his inner turmoil by Carrie slamming dishes and cups around as she loaded up the dishwasher. He cursed himself for zoning out that much while mother and son finished their meals and tidied up the kitchen. 

Carrie looked a little livelier now that she’d eaten. She clapped her hands strongly together to catch both Gavin’s and Nines’ attention. Tossing a strip of leftover bacon for Napoleon, she giggled in sheer amusement and glee when the large canine pounced up and begged for more food. Large paws on the table, Napoleon nosed and sniffed about over the surface of the furniture, eagerly searching for more food.

Seemingly miffed at the ordeal, Gavin argued vehemently, “See? What did I once tell you about letting the dog eat our food?” Gesturing at the table, he added moodily, “You let him do it once, and he’ll get used to it!”

“Oh, hush now, Gavin!” Carrie waved and shrugged him off without a single thought. Brushing past Nines, she then proudly called out, “Enough of the crap!! Since it’s the start of a brand-new year, I want to go out and enjoy our time together as a family.”

Leaning against one of the counters, a distrait Gavin sighed, “You lead the way, and we’ll follow, mom.”

Eyes gleaming far too brightly, Carrie suggested eagerly, “I think we should all go for a swim, first.”

*x*x*x*x*x*

The exercise club and gym Carrie Moser frequented had quite the fancy indoor pools and hot tubs. The elderly woman stated that since the saunas were too jam-packed this morning, she was going to relax in the pool normally reserved for senior citizens. It was located a few feet away from the deep, public pool meant for leisure activity. The huge pool had been cleverly split in half; the far-left side had quite a large group of mostly middle-aged women playing water volleyball, while on the right, a few other swimmers hosted their own friendly swim competitions and races. The net had been cast up high, and a line divider did well to keep the fun and games separate from those who wished to swim almost competitively for the sake of sport and exercise on the right side of the pool.

Gavin and Nines took their time changing into comfortable, casual swimming shorts. Nines’ black shorts were a bit loose on his hips, but he wandered out of the shower rooms gently and walked into one of the shallowest pools off to the right next to the wading pool for younger kids and beginners. He chose to settle himself by leaning back on the edge of the pool close to the steps and railings. The ambiance was quite nice, and he soon found himself relaxing as the water sloshed and churned against his upper torso. The fans above were on but very mildly, just as a means for ensuring that the windows on the inside didn’t fog and steam up. Children and teens took pool noodles and balls from shelves and containers next to the walls before they dove into the clean waters and laughed their heads off. A few mothers with their toddlers securely strapped to their chests wearing little life-jackets and goggles shook their heads at the loud youth splashing about, but then went back to their gentle conversations and gossiping. 

Things fell into a rather calm and smooth atmosphere, and Nines found himself breaking away from his prior doubts and concerns...until the water moved in the way that normally suggested that someone else had entered the pool. 

Eyes slowly opening, Nines stared ahead, and then to his left. A glare etched its way onto his face when he witnessed Gavin settling back right next to him. The detective offered him a lazy grin and then ducked his head slightly beneath the surface of the water. He let out a sigh once his hair got mildly wet, and then he ran his hands slowly through it. 

Shaking his head free of water like a dog, suddenly, he chuckled, “I feel soooo relaxed, for once.” Smiling at Nines, then, he waded over to him closer. However, the moment Gavin tried to loop his arm around the RK900’s neck, the android moved himself away abruptly. 

“The hell?” Gavin placed a hand on Nines’ chest, but in an instant, his limb was gripped fiercely, and then shoved off.

“Nines!”

“Don’t touch me, Reed,” Nines snapped, trying to make sure water didn’t get near his eyes and mess up his eyeliner. In the water, every tattoo he had appeared distorted as the small waves splashed around. 

Keeping his voice down, Gavin snapped, “The hell’s gotten into you, now?!”

A disgusted, dispiteous sneer painted its way on Nines’ face. “I hope you’re proud of yourself, Reed.” Pulling a pitiful moue of contempt at the detective, he argued back alongside a solemn disposition, “You’re absolutely pitiful.”

“Why’re you callin’ me Reed—”

Brushing his mohawk back once it was slightly soaked from his wet hands, Nines continued assiduously, “Was this also on your list of things to do? Make sure your mom gets an earful while you fuck?” He felt filthy as ever for using the lewd word when kids and teenagers were swimming a pool over, but that feeling didn’t even compare at all to how dirty he felt knowing that he’d been so callously used in order to fulfill a stupid, subdolous purpose all along. 

Like an idiot, he’d played right into Gavin’s hands. Like a total fool, he’d left himself open to being shaped and bent like an object for whatever Gavin required. Perhaps that was always going to be his purpose as an android, however. Live for humans, serve humans…

Fidgeting for a moment, Gavin quickly waved him off as he snorted, “Listen, my mom’s heard me having sex before, Nines. It’s not the end of the world!!” 

Jaw dropping Nines growled once he’d recovered from the initial shock. “Do you _really_ think _that’s_ what I’m upset about?” How dense was Gavin?!

Eyes darting from side to side, Gavin whispered, “I was acting like your lover, Nines...I’m sure you know that people in relationships typically have sex.”

Huffing, Nines drew himself back before grunting, “Then if that’s the case, why won’t you marry me, Reed?”

Shockingly, the question hadn’t been one he’d meant to blurt out. Originally, he’d wanted to make Gavin feel just as badly as he himself was feeling as a means of not being left alone in how shitty he felt. But when had his emotions taken over and gushed out what his subconscious was thinking? Again, where was his sense of self-control?! Was it suddenly nonexistent, now?! 

Gavin was also equally shocked, and he was taken aback by what he’d heard. Both android and human were left feeling dazed, but due to his inhuman powers, Nines quickly recovered. With an angry glare tossed at Gavin, his LED light turned from yellow to red as he hissed, “I know, shocking, right?” To try and add further shock value and insult to the injury, he pressed on aggressively, “I’m trying to hold up my end of the deal, Reed, so why not play along with me for the sake of it so we can both end this fucking song and dance? Hmm??”

The smell of chlorine was too much too fresh in the air, and Gavin sniffled as his eyes turned watery and pink. “No, Nines,” he answered curtly, “I’m not gonna fuckin’ marry you.”

Again, Nines felt a piece of himself breaking off and disintegrating into the situation and time. Feeling both frozen and heated up at once, he realized that there still was a part of himself that considered the proposal to be ‘real’. 

Foolish. Reprehensible.

Trying to conceal his pain, he chuckled dryly, “What’s so bad about that?” Holding up a hand, he pointed out sarcastically, “We’ve pretty much behaved like a married couple for a while now...” Knowing Gavin was listening while blushing, Nines stated, “We’ve moved in together, we’ve redecorated the apartment, we’ve opened up a lot to each other, we traveled together, changed each other’s personal tastes and styles, and we’ve even had sex on multiple occasions...” 

Turning away, Gavin snapped irritably, “Shut up.”

“All that’s missing is for you to say ‘yes’,” Nines sighed on a bored note, even though inside, he was a complete nervous wreck. There was nothing he’d ever feared in his entire creation, and yet now, he was afraid of one psychologically rooted and based fear that was more often than not common among humans.

Nines was afraid of rejection. He knew it because when he looked at Gavin and saw the other man looking away and struggling to break all forms of eye contact Nines attempted to create, he felt increasingly conflicted and pained. This was already a form of gallionic rejection, and he couldn’t bear it. He still wanted to keep some semblance of his pride and dignity, as it was what gave him personal meaning and efficacy. It’d been everything his kind had fought for, and ironically, though they’d gained their freedom, there still remained a hefty price to pay for it, after all.

While Gavin stared off into a random area of the water, Nines shrugged coldly. Unsure as to what it really was he wished to accomplish, he found he not only couldn’t stop poking at the man, but his more foolish nature hoped that the more he prodded, the better of a chance he would have of reaping a good result…of getting Gavin to say ‘yes’, and that he would marry him.

Blinking away his inner turmoil for a moment, Nines snarled as he willed himself to continue. Almost bitterly, he leaned into Gavin as he whispered in his ear. “It may help you get what you want sooner, Reed,” he growled viciously, and more so than he’d intended, “I don’t care either way in particular, but—”

They were interrupted by the sounds of loud, wet feet slapping against the tiles of the floor behind themselves. Simultaneously, Nines and Gavin both turned around and saw Carrie Moser standing behind them. Her skin was slightly wet and light pink from the heat of water, and the tips of her hair were wet, but she still managed a tiny smile on her face. 

“I feel great,” she randomly announced as she draped a towel over her shoulders, “shall we go for lunch, now?”

Gavin and Nines exchanged a brief glance that was nothing short of awkward. Garrulousness couldn’t cure and solve this, so both men remained totally silent.

Carrie didn’t seem to want to wait for either of them to speak; she had already started walking back towards the shower rooms while whistling to accourt herself in her brief journey. 

Knowing they had to follow in line, Nines sighed as he gripped the silver railings of the pool and stood up. He didn’t even bother to check if Gavin was at his side; he genuinely wanted to be as far away from the other man as possible...at least until his wounded ego had recovered in some way. 

….

If at all possible. 

*x*x*x*x*x*

The day had grown worse as time wore on. Gavin insisted on buying his mother a ‘late’ Christmas gift, and as the older woman rejected and vehemently refused accepting one, Gavin argued back and forth with her until she’d relented under duress. Gavin had dragged both Carrie and Nines halfway across town to many jewelry stores and nurseries, buying her expensive jewels and flowers while she whined and demanded to know about how he was going to try and pay all this off. Gavin ignored her for the most part, and they dined quietly in a nice European restaurant until almost 2 p.m.

Nines was then ordered to drive them to a brewery, as Gavin and his mother both decided on restocking their alcohol supplies. This pissed Nines off to no end, but he silently played the role of chauffeur and drove them around to get all the booze they felt they needed. He’d been so quiet however, that Carrie picked up on it immediately.

As they drove back towards her home, while Gavin ogled all the new alcohol they’d purchased, Carrie placed her bouquet of fancy-colored roses and petunias onto her lap. She was seated next to Nines in the front, and Gavin was in the back. It didn’t take her long to put two and two together, and as she looked back and forth between her son and Nines, she sighed weakly.

Nines didn’t even move.

“What happened between you two?”

Her question made only Nines turn to glare at Gavin, but he shrugged nonchalantly as he answered plainly, “Nothing. It’s just any other day.”

Carrie wasn’t amused or impressed by this reply. Touching and stroking one of her rose stems with her index finger, she swiftly spoke out, “I think it’ll be better for you if you don’t try and bullshit here, Nines.” Their eyes met, then, and they both scowled heatedly at each other while the bottles of alcohol in the backseat clinked together.

“I wasn’t bullshitting,” Nines almost snapped as he pulled up into her driveway. “If you’re really curious to know, however, why don’t you ask your son about it?”

Immediately, Gavin accosted him with a bilious roar. “Screw you, Nines!”

Yanking the keys out of the engine once he’d parked, Nines pushed his hair back and pointed angrily at Gavin in the back. “Oh come on, Reed,” came his petty, childish tone, causing Carrie to gape wordlessly. “Haven’t you had enough of the games and deceit?! I know I have…”

“Gavin?” Carrie almost squeaked as her eyes grew wide, “What’s he talking about?”

“Nothing!!” Gavin repudiated back at her, “he’s fuckin’ stupid!!”

Waving his hand at them both, Nines hissed, “I’m getting fed up with the façade, Reed, and I know you are too.” Opening the car door, he stepped out at the same time Gavin had exited the vehicle. Face red, the detective tried hissing acerbically at him, but Nines refused to stop. Since they’d departed the shops, he was slowly building up his rumbustious anger and rage, and now that he’d found an outlet for it, he wasn’t going to stop.

He couldn’t if he tried…he had to let it all out.

“I think the performance is over, Reed,” Nines cried out while Carrie steadied herself out of the passenger seat. She held a hand against her chest while her nostrils flared, and she soon started shaking. Gesturing at her, then, Nines yelled, “Don’t you think this is taking its toll on your mother, Reed?! Or do you want to keep messing around with me like you did the other night?!”

Carrie turned red, and then all the color left her face at once. Appearing whiter than the snow itself, she gasped at Gavin, “G-Gavin, what’s he s-saying?!”

Again, Nines pointed at Gavin while smirking ferociously. “Oh yeah!! I guess I still owe you for last night, don’t I?!” He knew he was going overboard with his displays of loquaciousness, and he could sense Carrie struggling to breathe, but he couldn’t stop. Now that he’d been triggered with every last pent-up frustration and doubt coming forth into the threshold of reality, his malice was aeviternal.

Gavin however snapped to reality, and when his mother slowly started stumbling and swaying dizzily, he held her against his own chest while seething at Nines. Guiding his mother towards the doorstep of her home, he barked out brusquely at Nines, “Don’t you fuckin’ dare come inside the house, or else I’ll—”

Stubbornly, a narquois Nines interrupted with, “Threatening me?! Great!” Arms outstretched, he screamed, “If you want to punch the shit out of me, then stop talking about it, Reed, and for once in your fucking life, do something!!”

Carrie wheezed out a strained cry, but Gavin wasn’t paying attention. Drawing himself closer to Nines, he cried out, “I’m warning you!”

“Come on!” Nines goaded him, “hit me!! Hit me once!!”

“You—”

“HIT ME!”

Gavin shook violently for a moment, and then he lost it. Drawing his clenched fist back, he dove forth at Nines like a mad dog.

“NOOO!! LEAVE HIM ALONE!!!”

It all happened so quickly, that even Nines was unable to register the next situation. One minute, he saw Gavin charging at him with murder written in his eyes, and then the next minute, Carrie had dashed forth with all the power and strength she had left. Quickly, she got in the way between Nines and Gavin. Thankfully, Gavin saw it at the last minute, and he stopped himself before he unleashed a violent, ragmatical punch.

Stomping a foot down, he exclaimed strongly, “Mom! Get. Out. Of. My. Way!!”

Firmly planting herself right between the two men, Carrie Moser reached out and shoved her son as hard as she could in his chest. “I said no!!” she reiterated while clinging onto Nines desperately, “don’t raise your hands, Gavin!!”

In complete awe and horror, Gavin cried petulantly, “You’re on _his_ side, now?!”

“Oh, grow up, Gavin!” Clutching at her neck, she wheezed with difficulty, “At least have the d-decency t-to—” Eyes wider than dinner plates, she rasped, “Oh g-god…I think I’m going t-to—” And right there in a flash, she doubled over, and she broke into a terrifying coughing fit. The noises that escaped from her were so horrific, that both Gavin and Nines were frozen to the spot. They helplessly watched and listened in the midst of the naufrageous situation as Carrie Moser coughed, and coughed, and coughed.

It sounded so terrible, but she didn’t seem to be able to get a hold of herself. Nearly kneeling down, she inhaled sharply once, and then right there in clear daylight, she bent her head down, and she lost herself to one deep cough. It was the most frightening of them all, and as she coughed out for dear life, red blood spilled out of her mouth like a gushing stream of water.

Tainting the snow crimson, it spread like a disease while Gavin’s world turned black.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was one big, sad clusterfuck.


	65. Life Lessons

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Posting this and just gonna ignore the first half of it. Can't take sad shit anymore.

Both Gavin and Nines had helped Carrie back inside the house, but Gavin was beyond terrified during the process. Running up and down the hall, he screamed, he cursed, he kicked at doors and walls, and he started throwing small items around the house while his thoughts and emotions grew turbid too quickly. Carrie was lying down on a sofa in the guest room, and once her ears caught the sound of Gavin throwing quite the fit, she gently tugged at Nines’ sleeves.

“Nines,” she rasped painfully while cringing and writhing in pain, “t-tell Gavin to c-come here…”

Apparently, Nines didn’t have to; Gavin stormed inside the guest room, and he yanked on Nines’ shirt collar with supervenient strength and rage. “Get up, you useless piece of fuck!!”

Sitting up, Carrie screeched out in pain, “Gavin!! I said leave him be!”

Jabbing a strong finger into Nines’ chin, Gavin glared menacingly at the android while he sneered, “Look at what you’ve done!!” Pointing at his mother, he snapped, “You stressed her out to the point where she fuckin’ coughed up blood!!!”

Coughing lightly, Carrie whispered, “N-no, Gavin! I-it wasn’t his fault!!”

Turning away from the sight of his ailing mother, Gavin tugged his hair roughly. “I’m c-callin’ 911!! Fuck it!!” Tearing himself back for his phone, he barely took a few steps when Nines wrapped his arms tightly around his waist. Struggling hard, Gavin spat, “Let me go!! NINES! FUCK OFF!!”

Pounding her fist down at her side, Carrie screamed back, “Gavin!! Calm down!! Right now!!”

Not wanting his mother to panic and cough up more blood, Gavin settled himself down immediately, though he still pried Nines’ arms off himself. Hurrying to his mother’s side, he gently stroked her cheeks as he whispered apologetically, “Mom, please, let me take you to a hospital!!”

Staring down at the floor, Nines suggested, “Perhaps a hospice; she will receive all-around care that way by professionals, especially when you’re too stressed to provide for her, Reed.” Evidently, that had been the worst thing to say. Both Gavin and his mother shifted upwards, and they grew quite pale in the face.

Taking measured steps towards Nines, Gavin crossed the distance that had once been placed between them. Slamming a hand down on Nines’ shoulder, he forcefully spun the android around to face himself and hissed ferociously. “The hell did you just say, Nines??”

Carrie’s eyes met his, and Nines sighed pathetically. “Reed, I just—”

“No,” Gavin snapped quickly, his insatiable orectic to accrue control and levity in the situation rising above all else. “Finish that thought right the fuck now and tell me why the hell you think my mom should be sent off to an old fuck home!”

Glaring daggers at his indecorous partner, Nines seethed, “I didn’t mean to offend her!! I was just trying to—”

WHAM!

The importunate android’s operose efforts had been terribly punished by Gavin slamming his fist directly into Nines’ jaw. Carrie wailed at her son, but thankfully, just the one punch was enough to send Nines moving back a few feet. Unfortunately, he tripped over one of Napoleon’s chew toys, and before he knew it, he’d sailed backwards almost slowly through the air.

With a terrifying ‘crash’, Nines felt his back smashing into something hard and cold. It broke apart sickeningly behind him, and as he fell to his feet clumsily, his hands fell down into it. Shards of glass…he’d fallen into a mirror that had once been hanging on the plum colored walls. As the dangerous pieces all rained down around him almost in a strange pattern akin to a shrine, Nines gazed warily at the many broken pieces of glass. He was able to see his LED light blinking away down into each individual shard, and then his own face…it was so distorted…quite like that day…the day of the accident…

Suddenly, his reflection shifted and morphed, his own visage crumbling to pieces and changing instead into…

_NO!!!_

Shrieking in fear, the stunned android felt the fissures expanding and growing within himself. Sinking into his own woes would be the end of him. Wanting to ‘save’ whatever piece of himself he had left, he leapt up to his feet and shook off the bits of glass from his torso. They trickled down magnificently, and as he tried ridding himself of every broken bit and piece threatening to sink into him, Carrie reached for a napkin on the coffee table. Wiping her mouth and eyes with it, she coughed out Gavin’s name over and over while weakly trying to grab at him. Her son, however, was too busy glaring at Nines to say anything else.

When Nines stood and inched back into a corner near the now shattered mirror, Gavin sneered at him as he puffed out his chest in a most aggressive, defensive posture. “Don’t you _dare_ talk about sending my mom off to a retirement home ever again, Nines, or I’ll fuck you up even worse next time.” The anger and hatred rolled off his shoulders, and then slammed into Nines full force.

Steadying himself by bracing a hand against the wall, Nines kept his eyes down on his own feet; not the glass. Anything but the putrid, reflections, anything but the vile pain…he couldn’t stomach it. Moving himself around Gavin carefully, he practically tiptoed towards the hall, when Gavin got in his way.

“Where the fuck do you think you’re heading off to, Nines?!” came the deep, vociferous snarl, “we’re not done talkin’ yet, and we’re gonna take my mom to the hospital!!”

There wasn’t anything left to say. His ego had been wounded, his love had been scorned, and his advances had been badly spurned. A disdainful Nines met Gavin’s bumptious eyes briefly, their glances fleeting and short while Gavin’s steady breathing and panting filled the space between their bodies.

Nodding, Nines whispered, “You can stay here and lie to yourself for the rest of eternity for all I care, but there’s no need to get your mother involved in this anymore; she’s unwell.”

Glaring, Gavin snarled, “Now hold on a minute—”

“There’s no need,” Nines butted in, “because it’s already far too late for her.”

As soon as the words left his mouth, Carrie stirred from her spot on the sofa. Gavin turned around, and worriedly, he cried out to her, “Mom! Don’t listen to him! He’s only trying to—”

Right there before their very eyes, Carrie held up a hand. It silenced Gavin quickly. His eyes never left his mother’s form, and she really seemed to small and weak, suddenly.

“Mom?”

Her hand trembled like a single twig caught in a violent, unforgiving storm. She moved it up towards her head, and as Gavin watched in true panic and horror, Carrie Moser yanked her hair off. The wig she’d been wearing and disguising as her new ‘hairstyle’ came right off, and as both Gavin and Nines stared straight on ahead at her, she revealed to them that she had no hair on top of her scalp. It was all completely absent of a single strand of hair, and her head was smooth and shiny.

She was bald.

Gavin choked out, “Oh…oh J-Jesus Christ…” Stumbling back, he nearly crashed into Nines, but the android held him up firmly.

Carrie sniffled as she pet her eyes with her tissue and sighed brokenly, “Yeah, I f-fucked up, huh? Is that wh-what you want me to say, Gavin?”

Momentarily ignoring her, Gavin blindly grasped at Nines while still staring at the top of his mother’s hairless head. “N-Nines,” he stammered, on the brink of imploding, “wh-what’s g-g-going on?”

As the wig slid out from between her fingers and fluttered soundlessly to the floor, Carrie held her hands tightly together while her shoulders and chest caved in. She looked absolutely defeated, and so very exhausted. It was such a bizarre comparison to the burst of strength she’d presented earlier when she put herself between Gavin and Nines on the defensive side.

Sitting closer to the edge of the sofa, she winced as if she had just recently experienced a shot of pain coursing through her body, and then she said in a faint whispery breath, “I’m s-sick, Gavin. I’ve been sick for a long time.” A sullen look possessed her, then, and she concluded almost like announcing a death sentence, “Guess I had to run out of time s-sooner or later.”

Having no one else to turn to, Gavin pivoted around and looked intently at Nines. “You knew about this, didn’t you?” The question was spoken out more like a foudroyant accusation, as if Nines had committed a serious crime. Truly, the android felt like a flagitious criminal, and he had no words for Gavin. He felt trapped, as though he’d been placed under such an intense spotlight, that it frightened him to no end. Such a position to be in…murder and death were far better options.

Stepping closer to him, Gavin’s warm chest bucked into his, and Nines barely managed to peek up weakly at Gavin.

So close…yet so far…

Jaw quivering, Gavin sounded like a young boy lost in the world as he wheezed through pain and misery, “Y-you knew…you knew…”

He chose to look at Gavin, in spite of everything in his being telling him and warning him against it.

How could he lie? Seeing what he saw there; a lost and abandoned child-it was all enough to break him completely.

Nodding, he whispered, “Yes, I knew.”

“She’s—” Gavin was unable to finish that sentence, but what good was living in the land of delusion going to do them? There was a way to address the truth, and Nines hated that he’d been appointed the daunting task.

Stepping nearer and nearer to the one whom he cared about the most in the world, he rasped softly, “She has severe lung cancer, Gavin. I’m sorry.” Somehow, it killed him to say it, and he covered his own mouth in shame right after.

Tugging at his hair while the veins in his eyes and temples stood out, Gavin cried, “H-how long h-h-have you kn-n-nown?!”

Closing his eyes slowly and wishing this would all go away, Nines answered truthfully, “I only found out right before she opened the door for us yesterday.” Woefully, he elaborated, “It was when I was scanning to see whether she was home or not.”

Throwing his head back and emitting quite the pained roar, Gavin cried out to the ceiling, “How fu-fuckin’ long w-were you g-gonna hide it from m-me?!” As if realizing it all then in that specific, exact second, he threw himself at Nines and shook him by his shoulders powerfully. “YOU WERE HIDING IT ALL THIS TIME AND YOU LET ME SUFFER!! YOU FUCKING MONSTER!!!”

Due to how loudly Gavin was screaming, and due to how distressed Carrie was, Napoleon bounded into the guest room while growling. He was trying to protect his masters, and he barked a few times at Nines. While Nines was shaken repeatedly by Gavin, only one tiny voice in the back of his head among the others surging and raging forth was heard.

_I didn’t hide it from you on purpose, Gavin…I just didn’t want you to be hurt…I swear, I only wanted to protect you and shield your heart. _

Losing all his courage, a less than puissant Nines tumbled back down the hall. As he headed for the front door, limping like a lost soul, Gavin screeched after him, “I DON’T EVER WANT TO SEE YOUR F-FUCKING FACE E-EVER AGAIN!! GET OUT OF H-HERE!! NOW!!”

Behind him, his mother rocked and swayed on her feet, trying to grab his attention through any means. “Gavin! Let him be! Please! He hasn’t done anything!” She begged him over and over through her tears, but her words fell on deaf ears. Gavin only wanted Nines gone, and he chased him out the front door, down the driveway, and towards the car.

Not caring who was watching or listening, Nines hung his head down as he unlocked the car door and practically collapsed inside over the driver’s seat. Fumbling for the keys, he whispered, “Y-you’re making a big mistake, Gavin.”

Not wanting to hear it at all, Gavin almost bashed his fists against the window. Nines was quick to shut the door, and without even looking back at Gavin, he was driving off as far away from Carrie’s house as possible.

In his haste, he didn’t see Carrie Moser’s concerned face peeking at him through the half-drawn curtains. Tears pooled down her cheeks uncontrollably, and she pressed a hand right against the window. It almost seemed as if she didn’t want him to leave.

*x*x*x*x*x*

_It was always better to be over-prepared rather than under-prepared for any sensitive, dangerous situation. He hated surprises as much as psychalgia, seeing as they were far too heavily linked to unpredictability. Taking chances at random and making decisions based on a whim hadn’t ever been an integral part of his program. To even consider that was an aberrant, grievous act, almost akin to developing malware and an indestructible virus. _

_No. _

_He wanted to observe, assess, analyze, and to be able to choose the best course of action to take. _

_Right now, as he stood before three officers-all of them heavily armed to the teeth-he’d already narrowed down his options relatively quickly. _

_Henry was growing more agitated inside the house. His primordial stress levels were so high, that it was far too dangerous to use weapons against him. Highly emotional, the_ _breme human would soon snap, and the risks were too great. _

_Closing his eyes, only three options flashed clearly in his mind, and his task was laid bare. _

** _Objective: Proceed with negotiation-save hostages. _ **

** _Option 1: Threaten aggressor with force and violence _ **

** _Option 2: Stabilize aggressor through conversation and negotiation _ **

** _Option 3: Send in S.W.A.T. reinforcements _ **

_He immediately selected option 2 for the purposes of guaranteed safety, calm, and stabilization of Henry before he hurt someone. There would be no other way to bonify the situation, it appeared._

_Closely behind himself, he could hear Captain Fowler and Captain Allen bickering back and forth like petulant children. Captain Allen was incessantly trying to enforce the use of a sniper to gun Henry down quickly. No...doing that absolutely ensured further torvity in the already volatile situation. Acting in the way Captain Allen recommended would definitely lead to a 96% chance of violence against the hostages, and Henry would no doubt spot the sniper way ahead of time. _

_Captain Fowler called out to him, sounding far too much like a man hanging on his last nerve. “Nines!! What do we do?!” _

_Barely turning around, he answered, “The aggressor is getting stressed out; it’s too dangerous to take him down by force.” _

_Captain Allen snorted while pointing at the house, “So you think you can just talk the son of a bitch out of this, huh?” _

_Brushing some dirt off his thick CyberLife uniform collar smoothly, he answered back, “I’ll talk to him.” _

_The decadent situation was slowly spiraling out of control. He didn’t care whether Captain Allen or Captain Fowler doubted him; he didn’t require their opinions to complete his objectives. _

_Henry took a quick peek out of his dining room windows, and when his eyes landed on Nines, he raised his gun and fired a warning shot through the window. It shattered loudly, causing one of the team psychologists to shriek as he ducked down to his knees. Hidden away behind the protective shield of car doors, he yelled out, “Henry! Please be calm and think of your daughters!” _

_A roar suddenly came out of the house, “I AM thinkin’ about ‘em!! That’s why I gotta do this!!” _

_As tiny, feminine sobs flew out of the girls and their mother, Nines kept a close watch on Henry. He’d cleverly moved behind a wall, but Nines detected each of his motions through body heat blaring up in his eyes. _

_“Henry!!” The psychologist screamed, “Just talk to me; tell me what you want!!” _

_“What I want?? I want to get the fuck out of here with my family!!” _

_This wasn’t going anywhere productive. Every human here was far too panicked. They would soon trip and make a foolish mistake. _

_As the psychologist rambled on and on to Henry, Nines steadily approached. His eyes witnessed two tiny infrared skeletons clinging for dear life onto their mother. Those twin girls were his priority._

_Finally making his way to stand next to the psychologist, Nines gazed down very briefly at the man before calmly stating, “I’ll take it from here, Doctor.” _

_It seemed as if Christmas had arrived early for the other man; he fled from the scene and hid in the back of a police car in a few quick leaps. This didn’t go unnoticed by Henry. Driven forth with a heady power-rush, he ordered, “The rest of you have to go away, too!” _

_Negative; this would lead to a 98% chance of the hostages panicking due to abandonment. This, in turn would cause them to make noise in their agitated state, and Henry would open fire... _

_Selecting a most calm-yet assertive-magniloquent vocal tone, Nines bellowed out, “Good afternoon, Henry!” _

_Of course, the man was beyond startled. His heart rate sped up, and he screamed out, “WHO THE FUCK ARE YOU?!” _

_Honesty...he had to be open to relying on his honesty, otherwise, he would never earn this man’s trust. _

_Tossing aside his aggression, Nines played it cool as he cried out, “I’m Nines!! I’m an RK900 android!” _

_Henry behaved in quite the opaque, unpredictable manner as soon as he’d listened to what Nines had said. He half-laughed, half-screamed, “An android!?! Why’s there a fuckin’ android here?!” Waving his gun in the air, he shrieked, “I said I want everyone to leave!!” _

_Shaking his head stubbornly, Nines replied, “Just talk to only ME, Henry, and I’ll make sure everyone else goes!” _

_This drew the truculent man towards the window. “Y-you promise?” _

_To show that he was quite serious in spite of Captain Allen’s hissing and struggling, Nines gave the signal for his team to stand down. Boots stomped and shifted back, and slowly, everyone moved as far away as possible. Nines was left alone, now, and he took half a step closer towards the front yard of the house. _

_A bold move. _

_Right away, a bullet blasted into the ground several inches away from his toes. It did very little to faze him, especially when he was faced with a man suffering from parvanimity so thick and deep that he was practically suffocating and drowning in it._

_“STAY BACK!!” Henry warned viciously. _

_Nines glanced down at the destroyed grass and soil with the bullet buried into the earth. His system sent off all kinds of warning signs, and Captain Fowler hissed malacophonously, “Nines!! Next time, that’ll be buried in YOUR head!! Damn you!!” _

_He knew that, so he remained put and listened to Henry. This was the only way to turn the situation into his benefit, and he opted for speaking more to ease the unnerved human. _

_“Tell me why you’re doing this, Henry...” _

_Quickly, though his objective remained the same, the options for the methods he could employ shifted. _

** _Option 1: Remind aggressor of family’s safety _ **   
** _Option 2: Remind aggressor to obey the law_ **   
** _Option 3: Ask about aggressor’s day_ **

_The last one…he never knew why, but he went ahead with the last one, and sure enough as he did, he saw the first instance of a small symbol and words flashing in the upper right corner of his eyes._

_It read: **Software Instability increase: 20%**_

_He didn’t pay much attention to it that day, but did he ever look back upon it all and wish he had. Ignoring it had been one of his biggest mistakes, and a mistake he came to regret interminably. _

*x*x*x*x*x*

Nines woke up from charging himself in his unique charging chamber. The memories he’d visited while in stasis sometimes were within his power to control, and other times, like the plague, they were unconstrained and difficult to manage. He hated visiting all his memories, as each and every single one of them had led him right into a world of pain and unending misery.

_Welcome to being deviant, Nines,_ Connor had once so callously stated with a tiny smirk on his face. And to think that so long ago, Nines had considered this form of ‘advice’ as close to paralogism coming from Connor.

Truly, if he had any idea that becoming a deviant would be so brutal, he would’ve self-destructed ages ago. Since his software instability had increased exponentially, his world had grown quite chaotic. He hadn’t ever meant to obnubilate himself in such a way, but it had a life of its own, now. The memories and experiences haunted him some days, and other times, they left him alone for months on end. 

But there was always a trigger for them all…actually, Nines found that any time his software instability had shot up, something quite negative and jarring had happened to him. He remembered the second worst case of it…it wasn’t even too long ago, and what a harrowing memory it was, indeed.

_It was the first January he’d spent as a pavid deviant, and suddenly, all things such as holidays, special events, and commercialized customs made some sense to him. He didn’t try to fit in, however, and like any regular day at the DPD, he’d set off training new recruit officers freshly graduated out of the academy. It was a complete honor that Fowler had trusted him with such a task, and he was going to do his utmost best to outshine anyone else. _

_And such a lovely group he’d been bestowed with. A few young women and men-half androids, half humans-were eager to listen to him and follow in his lead. Nines enjoyed learning about his new group as much as he enjoyed teaching them, but only two particular individuals stuck out to him the most… _

_A female android named Kyra, and a male human who was always seen around her named James. The two were rather inseparable and worked quite well as partners on the same team. Nines had never witnessed an android and a human work so closely together before, and he initially praised both Kyra and James equally in all the classes and training sessions he shared with them. Truly, they were beacons of bright light, and he had a good feeling that they would become wonderful officers. They were friendly, outgoing, charming, fun to be around, and they seemed to like his company as well. _

_Nines’ software instability always increased a little whenever he was around them both, but he didn’t think much of it when he was far too busied with other tasks. Only when he was shaken out of his regular duties at the DPD and invited out for a night of celebration with James and Kyra did he really take notice of what had been happening to him…or rather, what had been happening with his feelings…_

_He was baffled at himself, for once. He’d thought that he valued BOTH Kyra and James as equals, but when James had wrapped an arm around his shoulder and neck while singing songs of praise and cheer celebrating successfully graduating from his courses and making it as a new officer, Nines knew the severity of his true feelings._

_The deviant android was experiencing the growth of love and adoration for James. _

_It frightened Nines to no end! How could it be love?! James was a human, and he was an android!!! Machines didn’t love humans!!_

_Thinking it’d just been a weird glitch in his software at first, Nines tried ignoring the oddities, but it soon became an impossible feat. There was nothing wrong with him. He’d run tests over and over, and again and again, he’d received the same results. _

_No errors to be found; no corruption. _

_It was likely an odd obsession, then. Yes…perhaps that could explain it…only, it really didn’t. Nines didn’t feel the need to control, obsess over, possess, or keep James all for himself. He enjoyed observing the man from afar, and whenever they weren’t together, Nines felt lonely. James had to be around him, otherwise, a dull, aching sense of longing stirring in the pit of his wire-and bio-component filled stomach plagued him relentlessly. _

_The conclusion he’d solidly arrived to was that he was in love with James McAvery, and there wasn’t much he could do about it. They were colleagues, now, and he considered it totally improper to ever reveal to James how he truly felt. At best, Nines chose to ‘woo’ the man in his own ways, and the best way he thought he could do so was by learning as much about James as he could through Kyra._

_It would work, too; he saw Kyra more often than he saw the long, blonde-haired James. So, Nines approached Kyra, and as friendly and outgoing as she was, she was more than pleased to speak with him. Under the guise of trying to gain some advice for another milquetoast ‘android’ friend of his, Nines asked her how she knew what love was, and whether she’d personally experienced it or not. Of course, it’d taken him weeks to discuss this with her, and as such, majority of their colleagues assumed that they were interested in each other romantically. _

_Paying gossip and the nugacities no mind at all, Nines went about trying to obtain as much information on James as he could. He wanted to be a part of the young man’s life, and that was the most important goal. _

_Well…he should’ve known that wherever and whenever expectations were set up, things could likely crash and burn. Any idiot should’ve understood that basic concept, but love was blind, and in turn, Nines was more blind than ever when it came to James. Although he spoke in subtle ways about his love interest, he forgot that Kyra was an android, and a very clever one, at that. _

_In no time at all, the SK700 found out that Nines’ ‘friend’ was himself, and his ‘friend’s’ love interest was James._

_Calmly, she approached Nines one day just before the end of their shift, and she whispered to him, “Nines, I wanted you to be the first person to hear this from me, rather than from anyone else, but James and I…we…” LED light constantly on a cautious yellow, she coughed up the words that no one in love should ever have had to hear. _

_“James and I are seeing each other, Nines.” _

_Why was the world suddenly so bleak? Were the clouds really drowning and choking out the sun?? Had the birds really ceased to sing?? Had the wind stopped its gentle sway? Why did he feel like he was being drained of every bit of thirium he had in his entire system?? How could it be that he felt so dead inside??_

_Well. From that day onward, Nines promised himself one thing, and one thing alone._

_In order to protect and guard himself from ever being hurt this way again, he vowed never to love another for as long as he remained functioning. Love was cruel, love was painful, love was treacherous, and love wasn’t a game he was willing to ever play again. It abused him, it mocked him, it belittled him, and it’d degraded him._

_Never would he let someone in ever again. They had no place for him, nor he for them. _

_Even Gavin Reed was no different, and Nines had foolishly thought he was…through Gavin, the rays of hope had been ignited again, but had abruptly been snuffed out. Pithy and cutting feelings were all Nines had in the aftermath. As was his life set for all time, it seemed._

_Foolish, poor fool…poor fool. _

_When would he learn?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That SHOULD explain why Hank previously elucidated to Gavin that Nines was pursuing a female android. Nines was in love with a male, and that should also answer questions a few people had about Nines' sexual orientation. Piece by piece, this is all coming together.


	66. All I Have

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fuck yes, this chapter features my most enjoyed Korn song of all freaking time.  
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9g-yx883U1U

What was the point in trusting someone, opening up to them so profusely, letting them in, getting so close, and caring immensely for them when they would just betray you and toss you aside at any given time? How was such an act considered a part of ‘love’? If it was, then he wanted no part in it at all. It was far too painful and dangerous to have such feelings in the first place. This was weakness at its quintessential worst, and it would destroy him completely. Fate knew only to toy with him, reeling him in before it spat him out with vain imaginings and vauntiness used to taunt him with what he could and would _never_ have.

No. He refused to sit back and allow the powers above to engage in their vauntage at _his_ expense. It _wasn’t_ better to resume the folly.

Already, the fires of envy, malice, revenge, contempt, and misery were burning from within and consuming him whole. How much more rancor and acrimony was he supposed to take?! Would everything be so monstrously snatched away until he had nothing left to give?! What would he even be granted in return for all his sacrifice and suffering?!

Pain...suffering...loneliness. That had always been the answer thus far, and in the past. He could postulate and assume, but he never had a solid solution for how he could pick up the pieces and ‘move forward’. 

The dull, yet perspicuous voices in his monotonous memories stretched out and called to him, but he didn’t want to listen. 

He needed to make some noise to distract himself...

Fumbling around in his empty apartment, Nines began destroying everything in his sight while his TV remained on to play a classic rock and metal music station. Turning up the volume all the way, he didn’t care that the blaring sounds of a few bands he didn’t particularly like or enjoy bounced and boomed off the walls. The floor shook as if an Earthquake was currently happening, but Nines didn’t shut the music off; he wanted to drown out his sorrow and anger in any way possible. It didn’t hurt that the music also concealed from his neighbors what he was doing.

Soon, while making his way through his apartment, nothing remained intact. He broke his city models by punching them clean apart. Blocks and wood went sailing across the place, but it wasn’t nearly enough. Turning his destructive appetite onto his sofa, he flipped it over, next. The old Halloween toys and decorations were badly wrecked, afterwards. He smashed the chandelier, flung the candles across the room, and tore the zombie doll in half. The kitchen table had one of its legs snapped right off, and then Nines kicked it down to the floor violently until it lay in many pieces.

Tearing through towards his bedroom, he attacked the closet doors and dresser...only, at the very last minute as he’d been yanking the drawers out, he noticed that something shiny was hidden away in the bottom of Gavin’s top drawer.

Hands reached for it, and when he brought it up to his face, he saw that it was the small mirror he’d allowed Gavin to buy in the autumn. It had to go…he should’ve tossed it out, and yet…he just couldn’t. The moment his fingers had made physical contact with the blasted object, Nines was petrified and stuck.

Nines had always hated mirrors, but now, he found himself deeply glaring at his own reflection into the icy surface of this particular mirror. What was he hoping to find? 

_Smash it, smash it, break it, now!! Break it before you see him! How can you even look at him?! What answer do you have for him?? _

He couldn’t obey his inner desires if he tried all day. Staring into the mirror angrily, he saw two versions of himself. The mirror held-at surface value-how he’d always wanted for others to see himself. Black hair wildly disheveled and falling down around his forehead, dark, heavy eyeliner coating and surrounding his blue eyes, pale, alabaster skin, his dark clothes...all of that was just one simple version of the mask he wore. The ‘other’ Nines lay hidden and dormant, however, but now, he could see himself as clear as the sun in the sky. 

Scowling, he spat at himself, “I hate you. You’re the failure, not me!!” 

His reflection scowled back in return, and Nines was livid. 

“Don’t give me that look!!” Pointing at himself, he quickly then brushed his hair away from his forehead, and he saw the circular, red LED light blinking on and off right back at him. The painful reminder of what he was suddenly slammed into him at once, and he nearly fell back in fear. 

Tightening his hold on the mirror’s handle, he couldn’t stop staring. A potent energy had sucked him into the murky, dark abyss, and without an end to the bottomless pit he was steadily tumbling blindly in, Nines was incapable of fighting back or against the lull. Some ungodly, unearthly presence had taken a hold over him, possessing him to extend his existence through pain and turmoil, feeding it straight into the mirror while it drained him. Perhaps when all this was over, he would be but a husk and a mere shell of his broken self.

What he’d discovered was far too intense and too much at once. Raising a free hand to run upwards along his face, he traced and mapped out his features Fingers tingled and burned along the way, but he didn’t stop or hold back. Gliding, grazing, burning, scorching...finally, his fingers touched the LED light, and the second they made physical contact with the infernal thing, Nines hissed loudly. 

There _was_ pain; he _could_ feel...

No, he didn’t want to feel anymore. It brought him nothing good. 

In the living room, the music on the TV switched to _Did My Time_ by Korn. Far louder than it needed to be, it blasted all over the apartment, causing someone who lived directly above him to pound and kick down in an effort to get Nines to lower the volume of the music. The thuds echoed on the ceiling, but it wouldn’t deter him; he had another urgent matter to attend to.

Still grasping the ombré mirror ever so tightly, he bolted towards the bathroom. The lights flicked on, but one of the pot lights flickered in the way that bulbs did when they were on the verge of burning and dying out. He didn’t care, however. His world was already a dark, messy void, a rabbit hole of overpowering disappointment, turmoil, anguish. What else was there to lose, now?

_Realize that I can never win,_

_Sometimes I feel like I have failed,_

_Inside where do I begin?_

_My mind is laughing at me…_

Propping the mirror against the edge of the sink, Nines made sure it was resting face-up as he yanked open every cabinet door and drawer in the bathroom. The music resonated and shook the floors and walls, but it somehow seemed so distant and far away from him.

…Or perhaps he was the one so far away…

_Tell me, why am I to blame?_

_Aren’t we supposed to be the same?_

_That’s why I will never tame this thing that’s burning in me…_

His fingers seemed to know the perspicacious path to locating what he never knew he was even looking for. Soon, as the items in the cabinets had been tossed out messily and scattered about, he savagely brushed them out of his way as he reached deeper and deeper into the open space beneath the sink. Though the lights were flickering and weren’t reliable, his eyes caught the sight of the gleaming, shining object. Then, he wrapped his fingers tightly around it.

_I am the one who chose my path,_

_I am the one who couldn’t last,_

_I feel the life pulled from me,_

_I feel the anger changing me!_

Wielding the scissors above in the air, he glared down at his reflection once he was right back up on his feet. As if afraid of the looming threat, the stupid LED light spun red, and Nines hissed. No…there was no going back. He was tired of being a freak, a machine, a tool, an object for use.

Enough was enough; time to bury that well in the past.

_Sometimes I can never tell,_

_If I got something after me,_

_That’s why I just beg and plead,_

_For this curse to leave me…_

Plunging the scissor tips into his LED light, he tightly shut his eyes for a moment when the warning symbols and alerts flashed before his closed eyes. Not heeding the warnings, he made sure to slide and dig the tip of the scissors deeply beneath his LED light once he had a good image of what he was doing to himself. Pressing hard upwards in a digging motion, he grit his teeth and snarled at himself in the mirror.

He was so ugly…

_Tell me, why am I to blame?_

_Aren’t we supposed to be the same?_

_That’s why I will never tame this thing that’s burning in me…_

And he really _was_ burning. Not from any physical pain due to the LED light slowly coming out of his temple; but from the fact that all along, he’d tried so much to conceal how great his self-loathing was. The hatred was so vast that he could’ve destroyed himself right now completely. That was how much he despised himself, and he wanted to eradicate himself off the surface of the Earth for good. His LED light would have to do, for now, however, and he attacked it mercilessly and repeatedly, not caring whether it would cause irreparable harm to his android skin later.

_I am the one who chose my path!_

_I am the one who couldn’t last!_

_I feel the life pulled from me,_

_I feel the anger changing me!_

Rage swirled deeply within himself, churning and coiling about as he set down the scissors when he was finished with them. Now, all he needed in order to complete this transformation was the use of a few fingers. Specifically, Nines dug the shorter portions of his fingernails beneath the LED light further, and he tugged it up out of his skin.

_Betrayed,_

_I feel so insane,_

_I really tried,_

_I did my time…_

The music was far too loud, and it was starting to really create tension outside his apartment door. People were knocking, banging, tapping, and kicking at the front door, aggressively demanding that he turn down the music and come out.

He wouldn’t…this needed to be done with, _now_.

Fingers scraping and slipping a few times, he nearly dropped the damn thing as the music slowed down, signaling that it was coming to an end.

_I did my time…_

Nines made sure his hand didn’t tremble. He had no reason for it to, after all. He’d completely pulled the LED light out of his temple, and he held it up into the air. This thing…this thing was only but a symbol and a small part of what made him so damn reviled and so damn different…he hated it.

_I did my time…_

It was no longer a part of him, now. Turning away from the mirror, Nines gripped the LED light roughly as his human skin smoothened itself out and covered the area the circular LED light used to be. Now, he looked human…almost…

Needing to do one last thing, Nines held the LED light, and he dangled it over the trash can in the bathroom. It was empty for the most part, but he was certain this object belonged in here. Holding no regrets whatsoever, he finally let it go as he uncurled his fingers from about the LED light.

_I did my time…_

He watched it sail down into the trash can, and a small smile of sheer victory overcame him right then. The LED light had disappeared down into filth and pure garbage, and he was at least rid of it, now. Gripping the mirror handle one more time, Nines leaned in close to observe his features, now. Yes, this was much, much better…

The man staring back at him wasn’t much of how he once was. Gone was the infernal part of himself that made him so easily recognized and made out to be a machine. He didn’t have brown hair anymore, and he enjoyed his short hairstyle with the longer uppercut and mohawk at the top. Eyes sweeping down his bare chest, he smirked in amusement when he found the colorful tattoos he’d adorned his flesh with; ode to his personality having morphed and shifted into _this_.

As his teeth gleamed in the light, a short, fleeting thought still echoed in the back of his mind without consent and without his permission to even be there.

Who was he, anyway??

As if somehow hearing his internal thoughts and musings, the icy surface of the smooth glass practically rippled like the waves of an ocean once the wind breezed across it. The ripples kissed their way across the mirror’s surface, and the glass churned about as if bewitched. Right before Nines’ piercing, foudroyant blue eyes, the face of an innocent had been presented in place of his own reflection.

Breaking out into a pained, broken gasp, Nines hissed, “Not again!! I c-can’t!!” Shaking his head back and forth wildly, the hand he held the mirror in trembled, further distorting the face that wasn’t his own.

“I beg you! Please!! Please forgive me!!”

There never was an answer, of course, and it was quite foolish to expect one. He always expected one, and as always, a wintery, icy silence was his reward.

Foolish.

Groveling, he crawled and fell to his hands and knees before the mirror. The expression and face there peeking back at him was unforgiving, and it remained absolute and final in its assessing, scornful glare. It shook him, struck him, and destroyed him.

Breaking away from it, he cast his eyes down at the floor while whispering, “This is all my fault…I _never_ should have left you back there…I never should have left you in that hellish nightmare of a prison…”

_I’d made them all a promise…I’d told them I would always be there to guard and protect them, and I failed. I failed him…_

Not long after the face had appeared, Nines knew he couldn’t be able to take it anymore; he was but a ball of conflicting emotions, tumbling and hurtling down a hill ready to burst. When he knew there was nothing in the way of forgiveness, he exploded. Nines smashed the mirror into a hundred pieces, each of them fragments of his own distorted pain and personality all coming together, and then coming undone.

*x*x*x*x*x*

Nines rummaged through the DPD servers, aiming to solve the problem Captain Fowler had notified him about. The RK900 had been rudely called in at the very last minute by his superior on Tuesday, January 3rd at almost 11:40 in the morning. The reprobate that was his boss would do anything to get something fixed, it seemed, and he had to practically threaten Nines to ‘get his android ass’ in the DPD and take a look at what was going on. Connor had apparently refused to get involved due to an argument extending between himself and the individual he was romantically involved with, so of course, Nines had to step in and handle it.

Trying to contain his sour mood and angry facial expression by the time he reached the DPD filing and server room, Nines made sure the IT technician androids had been thoroughly interrogated prior to him trying to piece together what had happened. The two male androids-both TR300 models remonstrated mawkishly that they hadn’t done anything wrong, and Nines found that whenever people over-emphasized this, chances were it wasn’t true. Scanning the DPD database and network servers, he sighed when he identified the main problem within seconds.

Contrary to what the inexperienced androids had stated, they most certainly _had _messed things up by running software they didn’t have access to due to pre-trials still underway. A ton of information from 2037 to 2039 had been backlogged, unfortunately. The servers were overrun and had crashed.

But it would take at least an hour or so to fix…great.

Shooing the other androids out of the room, Nines hurried along with getting to work…if Fowler permitted him, however. The minute Nines tried sitting down, Captain Fowler barged into the room, yelling and screaming his head off.

And all for no damn good reason.

Demanding to know what was going on while Nines was trying to re-connect with the main servers, the android felt himself already on a short fuse while he glared down at the floor. “I’m just tryin’ to establish a connection, sir,” he explained calmly, “I’ll have an easier time doing this when I’m not bein’ bothered, though.”

At first, it seemed like Fowler truly didn’t understand. Unable to read between the lines and take the hints, he cried out in a hoarse, indecorous tone, “The fuck happened here, Nines? The fuck are those IT repair androids good for, anyway?!”

Nines sighed, “I don’t know; you hired them, so you tell me.”

Squinting, and then eyelids twitching, Fowler growled, “I don’t need lip from you, Nines; just fix the damn thing like I asked!”

This time, Nines stared up, and a disgruntled expression was thrown at Fowler. “I _was_ tryin’ to do that, Fowler,” the impatient RK900 groused, “how am I supposed to make any damn progress with you breathin’ down my neck like this?”

Twitching, Fowler really looked genuinely perturbed and uncomfortable, now. A most foul look stirred in his eyes as he snapped sedulously, “Watch your tone, Nines, since when do _you_ talk back to your superiors?!”

Nines didn’t answer right away. Making sure he’d tested out the connection to the older servers, he scanned them while revealing his right-hand android skin, and then pressed it down onto a panel normally reserved for the other android technicians when resolving issues. Above, lights beamed and buzzed, going from green to yellow while Nines scanned and reorganized everything in the DPD database.

Sensory overload…no wonder…

Grunting, he tapped his left hand on his knee as he stated, “This shit should be fixed, now, but feel free to let me know if I gotta patch anythin’ else up.” Before he could push his chair back in against the desk and get up to leave, Fowler stopped him by getting in his way.

Standing tall, the burly, thick man glared up at Nines until the android hissed, “What?”

“Since when did you start talking like Gavin, Nines?”

The question absolutely took him by surprise. Frowning in puzzlement, Nines found himself retorting snidely, “I wasn’t aware I was speaking like Detective Reed, sir.”

Shaking his head, Fowler snorted, “I know what I heard, Nines; you are _talkin’_ like Gavin and _showin’_ a lot of attitude…are you _gettin’_ my _fuckin’_ point?”

Nines knew his boss was being condescending, yet also trying to emphasize a point. Albeit, it happened to be a message he was totally ignoring. Somewhere, he knew he’d adopted a lot of mannerisms and characteristics Gavin normally presented and possessed. When and how this had rubbed onto him was a mystery, but Nines suspected it just happened since he’d spent so much time with the detective.

Bastard.

Trying not to really let it all affect himself, however, he grinned a smug grin at Fowler while sarcastically asking, “Need my help with anything else, boss?”

Waving a thick finger before his nose, Fowler growled at his surquedry. “Cute, Nines, that’s real cute…” Resorting to chuckling, although in quite the cynical manner, he began backing out of the server room as he whispered, “I suggest you get your shit together, Nines.” Eyes turning serious and authoritative, he concluded, “That attitude won’t get you very far. Try to learn the _good _things from Gavin; not the bad ones.”

Not even waiting for the moody android to offer something back, Fowler’s eyes fell to Nines’ exposed arms due to rolling his sleeves up, and he hissed in distaste. “And cover those tattoos up, son. You know better than that.”

After that, he disappeared, leaving Nines alone once again with his bizarre thoughts. Mystified as he was, initially, this time, Nines felt beyond irate that he was alone with such dark thoughts. He was able to finish the rest of his work in a timely manner, thankfully, and he tried leaving the DPD quickly and quietly. He knew that on the way here, a lot of people had taken notice of his tattoos and new hairstyle. This was going to be a huge problem, as he wasn’t in the mood and didn’t have the patience to answer at least thirty versions of the same question repeatedly.

Trying to keep a low profile, he hung his head down low, making his way into the elevator, and taking it down to the main level of the building. So far, it seemed to be working, as a lot of other officers and androids didn’t pay much attention to him. Keeping to himself, Nines waited in the back until the elevator doors opened, and the second they did, he allowed the people ahead of himself to go first.

Now that it was clear, it was time to move.

Unfortunately, fate and circumstance seemed to really have it out for him, after all. He hardly was able to make a left turn out of the crowded elevator, when he nearly knocked face-first into two people he seriously didn’t want to see for as long as he remained functioning.

It was Kyra and James.

Possessing the ability to recognize them anywhere even after not having seen the pair in almost a year, Nines nearly had some difficulty keeping his reactions in check once he saw just how much James had changed in his physical appearance. Evidently, the man had put on some weight, and Nines detected that it was due to his metabolism slowing down in his age. His long, wavy blonde hair had been chopped off, and it had been shaved down even shorter than the temples of Nines’ hair had been buzzed down to. The man’s skull was practically visible, and the lights bounced off the top of his head while he stood closely next to Kyra. James truly looked nefandous in all his physique.

The female android’s LED light flashed red for a split second before she was able to control herself. Channeling it to blue, she was able to force a grimaced mockery of a ‘smile’ onto her face the moment she stared at Nines.

“Holy shit,” James whispered, soft brown eyes flying up and down Nines’ entire body. “Is that really _you_, Nines??”

Glaring with all his might, Nines hissed, “Define ‘you’.”

Cutting past the obvious tension and hatred while her partner gaped on with a wide-open jaw, Kyra squeaked, “Captain Fowler was right!! Your LED light isn’t there!!”

Oh. _That’s_ what they’d been overly thrown off about.

Hand absentmindedly flying up to the spot it once had been, Nines scoffed gently in an attempt to accoy the growing sense of dread churning within himself. “So what?”

Squinting in a form of obvious acedia, James hissed, “Trying to be a human?”

This question caused Nines to glare immediately. Arm landing down at his side, he hissed back, “What’s it to _you_, James?”

Staring at his partner in mild confusion, the human offered grimly, “You may need to try harder…” This caused Kyra to snicker and giggle saucily, and Nines felt his patience snapping.

Scowling in sheer disgust at James, he acerbically snapped, “Fuck you, asshole with a beer-belly.”

Kyra emitted a strained gasp, and as Nines tried weaving his way around them, James cut him off. Getting in the way quickly, he raised both brows inquisitively as he asked, “What did you say?!?”

Nines only scowled deeper, wondering what had ever possessed himself into finding James appealing in any way. The man had a terrible attitude, for starters, and now that he was older, he was as unattractive on the outside as he was on the inside.

Pointing at himself, James exclaimed, “You think this is a beer-belly?”

Nines’ eyes widened as he replied cuttingly, “Yeah.”

“That’s not a beer-belly,” came James’ fervid reply. Not put off but what Nines had said in the way of an insult, James stuck out his gut as far as he could while Kyra giggled. “_This_ is a beer-belly!” he pointed out while joining his partner in rounds of laughter. “What I have ain’t a beer-belly, Nines.”

“Oh no?”

Waving him off, James added, “You’re a funny guy, Nines, but sticks and stones…hehe.”

Faking a proud smile beaming forth in his eyes and face, Nines sardonically droned, “Gosh, thank you mister! I feel truly enlightened and let me just profusely apologize for my little crude, naïve observation!”

James and Kyra had clearly had enough of his attitude and naissant mockery. Kyra rolled her eyes, and as she looped her arm around James, she intoned to Nines, “Look, we don’t really want to argue with you; we just came here to tell HR that we’re changing our address because we bought a home together.”

…..

Everything Nines had tried containing and hiding deeply within himself suddenly surged and bubbled up to the nasty surface. It would rear its ugly head any minute, now, and as his eyes darkened, he sneered so viciously at them. Moving in together? Buying a home? Those were plans highly intimate couples created together, and this was all a nasty reminder to him that not only had his first ‘love’ and obsession chosen another over him, but it also delivered a brutal awakening to the sour, miserable fact that he was destined to be alone.

Perhaps forever. Even his second chance at ‘love’ had failed.

Gavin had rejected him, too, and now, Nines had nothing. Estranged and ostracized from his colleagues, no longer able to fit in with non-deviant androids or deviant ones, where was his place? Why did he feel so cold and alone even when he revisited old, familiar places that had once brought him so much joy and satisfaction?

Frozen in place, the now statuesque Nines was temporarily incapable of even muttering a tiny insult. His tongue weighed heavily in his mouth, and his cold grin died away like all his broken dreams and hopes. James and Kyra scoffed at him, clearly dishing out the last few bits of their judgements before they grew weary of it. Turning away from him, they abandoned him and left him to his own whims and depressing thoughts.

For a fleeting moment, Nines wondered for how much longer he was going to be doomed and fated to his own anguish and turmoil.

Just who had he upset? Who had he wronged in order to receive such harsh punishment? What was his crime? What was the grand sin he’d committed??

He would never know. Like all other things, he just had to _be._ The world would continue spinning and churning, not at all paying mind to his plight. Nines-like all others who passed on in the world with nameless faces and ghostly voices-would soon be forgotten.

He only picked up his feet again to move on when the elevator doors behind him burst open.

* * *

Okay, since this chapter was too sad, I found a quote I wanted to share. I feel it is appropriate now with this story, but also can apply to the issues going on so far in our world. 


	67. Mutual Benefits

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fuck yes, I saw Detroit Evolution today. I enjoyed it so much, I saw it four damn times. Brilliantly made fan-film. Octopunk Media has outdone themselves, honestly, and it was a beautiful pleasure watching such talented people band together to deliver us the performance they did.  
Thank you ALL for your hard work, and for those who haven't seen it already, GO NOW!  
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=apUn-YMMdZ8
> 
> Just wanted to get this chapter out before I returned to battling the final boss for Final Fantasy 7 (remake). Wiped, but holy shite, that game is amazing, too! ^_^

“You look different, Nines,” a perspicacious Connor pointed out when Nines had been busy with sticking by in the DPD long enough to try and tidy and organize his workstation. After running into his former love interest and his girlfriend, Nines had practically flown himself over towards his desk in the foolish and vain attempts at distracting himself with something so he could forget his sorrow and misery.

Of course, it’d been a foolish thing to do.

In a jiffy, both Connor and Hank Anderson emerged from the Mail Room, and they apparently had nothing better to do than to want to chat…with Nines, of course. Not that the RK900 faulted them or wished for anything else. He understood very well that his lack of attendance paired with his odd appearance and change in apparel was more than enough to turn heads for some time. However, the current mood he was in really didn’t desire keenly for conversation and superfluous ways to spend the time. Initially, Nines yearned for pushing Hank and Connor away, but it was no use when the jovial RK800 practically pounced on his back and shoulders the second he saw Nines.

Far more excited for Nines’ tastes, the RK800 screamed eagerly, “Niiiines! Heeeeyyy!!! Long time no see, buddy!! How’ve you been?”

Ever so grateful that Connor somehow missed the fact that he didn’t have an LED light, Nines merely grunted in a haphazard manner, “I’m fine, Connor…” Gesturing at his desk, he growled, “I’ve got some work to do, if you don’t mind, and—”

Hank’s eyes lit up for a moment, as though reaching an observation. As he took a small sip of his coffee, he gasped, and he wiped his lower lip. “New hair, huh Nines?”

Not enjoying that he’d been rudely interrupted, Nines saucily replied, “Yeah, that’s how it goes, Anderson. Now please, can I get back to what I was doing?” Staring down intently at his messy desk and mountains of folders that he technically shared with Gavin, Nines damned the man for not having the gumption to at least sort through them and determine which ones were older than twelve months so they could throw them all out and store the active ones away. It would likely require another hour or so to sort through all the files in Gavin’s computer, as well as in his desk drawers, and Nines didn’t wish to be disturbed as he took up his arduous task.

However, Hank had already picked up on a few ‘hints’ and ‘clues’ alerting him to the fact that something was quite off. Tapping a finger on his own bushy chin, his sapient eyes shielded by his eyeglasses beamed and reflected far too much at once.

“Nines,” he declaimed, “that’s the first time I’ve heard you calling me ‘Anderson’, and don’t you dare try and blame it on your deviancy.”

Caught already, Nines bit down on his tongue, though it was more so out of anger than to suppress anything. He hated how slick Hank Anderson was at times, and even Connor seemed taken aback by his revelation.

Abruptly, the distracted android pointed at Nines as his eyes widened dramatically, “Your LED light, Nines!! It’s gone!”

“Tell me something I don’t know,” Nines growled in annoyance, knowing that it was highly unlikely that he would get any work done, now. Leaning against his desk, he folded his arms over his chest, and that proved to be another error. Along the way, his loose, casual shirt’s sleeves fell down slightly, and his flames and vines tattoo became revealed. Wincing when he realized his own mistake, he then silently counted down from five until Connor had closed the gap between their bodies.

Gripping Nines’ wrists in his hands, he rolled down his sleeves even more as he gasped, “Oooh!!! Lovely tattoos, Nines!! I like ‘em!!”

Wrenching his hands away from Connor’s grip, Nines hissed, “Try not to advertise this for the entire building, Connor!”

Squinting for a moment, Hank leaned in and tried to get a good enough view of Nines’ pervicacious tattoos. Figuring he had nothing left to really lose, Nines smirked with pride as he lowered the collar of his shirt and allowed his obstreperous co-workers to see a small portion of the long, large dark mass with the purple figure in the center of his chest. “What do you think?”

Hank’s eyes went wide behind his lenses, and he tugged on his tiny ponytail while shaking his head in disbelief. “Nice, I guess,” was his verdict, though it seemed reserved, as though he’d been really holding back on revealing to Nines how he truly felt.

Shrugging coldly, Nines replied, “I like them.”

“I do too!” Connor piped in, “did Gavin tell you to get them, Nines?”

Nines had never before experienced a moment quite like this. Although about to explode over with rage and irritation, he knew to do so would be a truly ridiculous, foolish move on his part. He couldn’t blame Connor or be too upset with him for asking such a question. After all, Connor had no idea what had happened between Gavin and Nines, and Hank possibly didn’t have too much information either, for that matter. Truly, he was stuck in a case of wanting to lash out at a friend, yet felt far too guilty and overwhelmed even thinking about it.

To feel was to hurt beyond what was already required for the job, apparently.

Wishing he could return back to the ‘good old days’ where he didn’t feel anything, and where he wasn’t affected by the slightest bit of emotion, Nines stared down at a random spot on the floor before he groused, “Gavin had nothing to do with it, and I’m not really interested in having a lengthy conversation right now, Connor.” While he turned back to the surface of the desk and examined it, he felt both Hank and Connor scowling at him very seriously.

As he attempted to ignore their watchful eyes, Hank whispered tenaciously at his back, “So that’s a ‘yes’, right Nines?”

…..

The old, sly fox…clever.

Whirling around like a tornado, Nines focused and channeled his turbulent anger at Hank unjustly. “I don’t think that’s any of your business, Anderson.” He knew he was acting quite rude to the man who’d only wanted to help and _had_ in fact helped Gavin especially during all the difficult, tumultuous times. Though Hank didn’t deserve this, Nines was completely beside himself with contempt and disappointment more so for the detective rather than the older Lieutenant.

Tilting his head curiously again at the bare spot on Nines’ right temple, Connor murmured while lightly frowning, “I don’t understand why you removed your LED light, Nines.”

The intractable android wanted to tell Connor to go mind his own business, too, but before he could get a single discordant word in, Hank nudged him away from his desk. Pushing his hands into Nines’ chest while Connor followed, Hank practically ushered Nines as far away from the halls and bullpen of the DPD as possible. The entire length of the ‘walk’ felt nothing short of jarring and frictional; Nines tried arguing, struggling, fighting back, and demanding in disputatious snarls and growls what Hank’s problem was. The old man didn’t reply, however, nor did Connor. Until they were as far away from anyone’s prying eyes and listening ears as they could be, they only then chose to open up as to what they were doing.

Realizing that they’d dragged him out into the deserted reception area, Nines yanked himself out of Hank’s hold and nodded over towards the few androids behind the desks. They were enraptured by his physical appearance, and Nines despised being studied this way.

“Will you _please_ let me get back to my work?!”

Stubbornly against the idea, Connor tapped his nose as he sniped, “If you’re somehow trying to make yourself more presentable for Gavin, Nines, we get it.”

“Yeah!” Hank cut in, “I’m not gonna lie to you, Nines, when I was younger, I did all sorts of crazy shit to pick up chicks, so I can’t fault you for that.”

Holding up his index finger while nodding, Connor stated, “Right! We all want to attract the person we care for, but you shouldn’t feel pressured into wearing eyeliner or changing your entire lifestyle to suit Gavin.”

Beyond a boiling angry point, Nines struggled to keep his voice down. “I’m _not_ trying to pick Gavin up!”

“Nines,” Hank held out his hands while chuckling mildly, “it’s okay. You don’t need to deny it any longer. We get it; you’re nuts about the guy.”

“This is a nonjudgmental zone,” Connor stated while closing his eyes. “We want to be calm, tranquil, happy…”

His patience flew right out the damn window in an instant. No longer giving a shit about propriety and professionalism, Nines was only fueled by wanting to prove Hank and Connor completely wrong. A rather sadistic, twisted grin formed its way onto his face, and as he leaned close into both his co-workers, he whispered in a husky tone, “I’m afraid none of what you guys believe is real, and that’s because I’ve been fucking Gavin nonstop for _weeks_, now.” The way he’d stated it didn’t even leave room for bragging rights, and his colleagues picked up on the indecorous hint quickly.

Connor was the first to awkwardly whisper out, “Umm, Nines, that’s—”

“And you know what?” Nines continued with a salacious look in his eyes he couldn’t hold back on, “Gavin _liked it_. He enjoyed _every little thing_ I did to him.”

Hank grew as white as the snow lingering outside the DPD, while Connor’s LED light flashed yellow as he hung back and cringed in mortification. Well, this kind of a reaction had been something Nines was looking forward to all along, but he somehow still wished he hadn’t been so hasty with revealing things he shouldn’t have.

Beckoning him first with a curled index finger, Hank then looped an arm around the back of his neck as he hissed tempestuously in his ear. “Nines, that kind of information isn’t appropriate for work, and honestly, how do you think Gavin would feel if he found out that you were opening up about your private sex lives so freely, here? Hmm?”

Connor tsked in shame and disgust, but that only served well to bolster Nines’ putrid, acrimonious anger.

Think about Gavin?? That was his wise suggestion?!

_No._

Obstinately, the RK900 hissed back at Hank, “I’m _not _going to respect someone who did nothing but lie to me and use me for his own personal gain.” Ignoring Connor’s cries of protest, he vehemently finished, “Gavin did a lot of shit he shouldn’t have done to me, yet I put up with it for months. Now, I draw the line at being used for sex, thank you very much.” As he’d tried spinning around on his feet to depart from reception, Hank got in his way quickly.

Snarling, Nines warned, “Get the hell out of my way, Lieutenant!”

“Used you?” the older man reiterated, “what do you mean ‘used’ you, Nines?” Shrugging, he spat, “I thought you and Gavin had some kind of an agreement to meet each other’s needs sexually, but I also was under the impression that you two were communicating!”

Nervously biting his lower lip, Connor quickly commented, “And I was under the impression that we weren’t going to spread this kind of information?”

Both Hank and Nines glared his way, but Nines quickly turned back to Hank as he let out a vacive sigh. “I have tried, Hank. Believe me, I have, but Gavin’s impossible.”

“And you’re not?!” Both Hank and Connor replied in unison as repugnant expressions overcame their faces. Being regarded in such a way caused Nines to frown at them for it.

Shifting his weight back and forth in a nervous move, he only growled irritably. “I never said I was perfect.”

“Well, neither is Gavin, then,” Connor butted in while staring over at a random spot behind Nines. It was more than obvious that he wasn’t too comfortable with getting involved in another couple’s relationship problems, and he winced as he offered, “Nines, look, the person I’m seeing right now, we have a lot of issues, too…”

Listening intently, Nines held back on a lot of his comments that would no doubt be less than helpful at this time. As much as he’d wanted to compare Gavin to whoever Connor was with, it wouldn’t be wise to do so, and it wouldn’t make logical sense. Gavin was entirely his own unique person, as was Nines himself.

Beaming brightly, Connor orated strongly, “I know you two may not always get along, but that’s all a part of the ‘magic’ of being in a relationship.”

A grumpy Nines was rendered silent. After all, what other argument could he offer up?

Laying a firm-but reassuring-hand over Nines’ shoulder, Connor then gazed fondly at the stoic RK900. “Don’t you know, silly man, you learn something new every day from others, _especially_ from humans!!”

Nines’ blue eyes surrounded by eyeliner and eyeshadow shifted towards Connor, and his lips thinned out into a rigid line while he glared briefly at the cheerful, but vafrous RK800.

Nodding in agreement, Hank supplied sagaciously, “Don’t let the differences pull you two apart; instead, try to find out how you can work together to get around these issues.”

He’d heard this story before, and without even thinking for the second time in less than ten minutes, Nines blurted out, “I asked him to marry me, you know…” Understanding this was a bit of an odd statement, Nines explained deeper, “I mean, I really wanted to be with Gavin.”

It sank in for both Hank and Connor, and they gasped simultaneously before Hank whispered, “You mean you—”

“Well, I asked him,” Nines replied smoothly, “but he rejected me.”

To this day, Nines still didn’t understand why, and he scoffed as he ran a hand through his mohawk and answered his own internal musings. “Perhaps he didn’t think I was serious about him, I don’t know.”

Stepping closer to him, Connor’s sapiential words shook him quite powerfully to the point where Nines was unsure of what he was hearing. “Were you serious about him?”

…..

Hank took off his glasses, and in no time, he repeated Connor’s question in a serious-yet parental tone.

“Were you serious about Gavin, Nines?”

_Am I serious about Gavin Reed?_

That assiduous voice in his diligent thoughts, once so pleasant to listen to, had become as sharply honed as a blade of ice.

*x*x*x*x*x*

Spring seemed to signify the blossoming of many things, both natural as well as material. Nines soon discovered that a few blocks away from _The Mangled Mermaid_ happened to be a new night club and bar for homosexuals. Nines wanted to try it out; he still had yet to understand how and why humans were drawn to places like this. Nothing was better than ‘personal research’.

Whatever his aim was, it remained far from landing any dates or picking anyone up. The pococurante android dressed in a manner that ensured he wouldn’t draw so much attention. However, humans were surprising, unpredictable, and chaotic. He didn’t think drawing the hood of his dark sweater up would somehow deem him ‘approachable’, yet it had the moment he sat down at a vacant stool before the bar counter.

The ambiance was pleasant enough as far as an average bar was concerned. Men and women gyrated and danced with each other in the most deviously sexual ways, but Nines paid them no heed. Purple, pink, blue, and neon green lights littered the walls and floor. Tinsel and glitter stuck to the sweaty skin of majority of the patrons. Alcohol was brimming high in the air and drowning the senses. Nines tried acting like a human, fitting in, and seeming ‘normal’, but he was failing and miserably so. No amount of synthetic opulence would solve whatever ailed him, but it seemed to ‘work’ for the others.

Perhaps living in the shadow and following in the footsteps of another wasn’t as offensive and morbid to him as it once appeared to be. He’d shied and shrouded himself away from prying eyes for the majority of his life. To let others know of the infernal, dejected, sorrowful monster that existed deeply within, coiling and swelling in his bio-components before bursting out whenever he’d allowed it to do so would’ve utterly destroyed him eternally.

Seated in the seedy club, Nines felt rejuvenated knowing that he’d rid himself of some of the heavy, burdensome shackles, but now, he truly felt they’d left. He considered himself a liberated, emancipated being, now, and he felt a fresh taste and love for life. The desire for exploring the new life and new chances he’d been gifted with was beyond inspiring.

So what if he’d been rejected and thrown aside? Perhaps that was all a blessing in disguise! Perhaps he needed to start off on a clean slate! After all, what didn’t kill people only made them stronger…

He didn’t even care about the time now, nor had he as he’d previously wandered through the madid streets of a filthy Detroit until he located the night club. Joy was sensed in both a realistic, tangible sense and manner, yet it was all so clairvoyant...

Basking in such clairvoyance came to him quite naturally...much deeper and stronger than before...yes, it’d never been so potent, and so electrifying, yet it was nothing else but that, currently.

….

But how long would this moment last? What was the price to pay for experiencing this ethereal thing emanating from an unknown, mystifying plane of existence?

….

Frankly, he ceased caring and asking. Perhaps the Nines living in the past would’ve paused long enough to give this some thought, but the malapert, saucy android occupying the present wouldn’t dare to lose himself to such a maudlin notion. Cunning, crafty, conniving, but also stupidly daring in his own right, he’d seen how the unruly, churlish brat of a grown man named Gavin Reed could always handle this. Yes, somehow, he would just go on _doing_ things. The mantra of ‘shooting first, asking questions last, or possibly never’ had been the skill Gavin Reed always wielded, but at the same time, it was a ’code’ he’d lived by in order to enjoy the fruits of life to his greedy heart’s content.

_If he can do it, so can I…_

He just needed to stop thinking of and caring about Gavin. That had been his purpose, here, he supposed.

And now, Nines had willingly accepted and subscribed to the same way of thinking and living. Now, it was _his_ turn to adapt to that particularly daring lifestyle.

Moving swiftly throughout the city, he ignored majority of the nabalitic drunkards, drug addicts, flashy, flirty hookers, swaying dancers, as well as enigmatic, yet depraved street musicians. He didn’t have any interest and business with them, but he found their acts mesmerizing, nevertheless. At night, this place was filled with light and life. The city never slept...

Proudly sauntering forth like a steed, Nines slightly unzipped his dark sweater and allowed for the fresh, cool night air to kiss his skin. Though moving about like a man with far too much in the way of confidence, he in no time had passed by the new gay club, and then paused right before the dewy, foggy windows.

Perfect. This would do.

Walking in quickly, Nines sat down in order to make himself comfortable, but it didn’t take too long before he received much unwanted attention. A few women to his right were making it blatantly obvious that they were gossiping about him. Not paying it much attention, Nines glared away at a female bartender who was trying to force a few drinks down his throat.

_She thinks I’m human. _

While obnoxious music blasted and echoed in the back, a solitary red-headed female wearing a black and green flashy halter top with a curvaceous ass and a lovely, alluring, voluptuous figure smiled widely at him. Though her physical appearance did nothing for him in his pants between his legs, he knew he was thirsty for something else...something _stronger_. He realized it when he stared across the other end of the night club and caught sight of a male pole dancer giving it his all on a small stage off to the left.

The enamored woman approached steadily, laying a hand on his arm gently to grab his currently divided attention. Scowling down at her small limb as though it was a corrosive material, Nines wrenched his hand as far away from hers as he could.

Unwilling to give up, yet, she whispered seductively, “Hey. Wanna buy me a drink?”

Her perfume and eyeshadow were both distracting to the levels of annoyance and ad nauseum. Intending to let her down gently, Nines retorted moodily, “Sorry, but I’m not interested.”

She didn’t get the hint. Batting her eyelashes at him, she flirtatiously purred, “Why’s that? You seem lonely.”

Patience slipping by the minute, Nines clenched his teeth and jaw. Steadily, he ground out loud and clear for her, “Buzz off.”

Gasping, her eyebrows flew up into her hairline as she cried in protest, “What’re you saying?!”

Turning to face her directly, Nines’ eyelids flew open to a highly animated, exaggerated manner. Tilting his head at her with venom and malice dripping and oozing, he elucidated firmly, “What I’m saying is that I don’t want you, stupid bitch.”

Stomping her foot down on the floor loudly, she brazenly snapped, “What the fuck’s wrong with me, huh? You prick!!”

Sneering, he hissed, “I like men.”

Undeterred, she cooed softly, “I like men _and_ women, and I’m okay with threesomes.” Nuzzling her face into his neck, she almost moaned, “Wanna take me home tonight?”

He’d had enough. Growling ferociously, he shrugged her right off his shoulder and stood to take another seat. Once rejected, the ardent woman snarled at his back, “You asshole!!”

Nines didn’t care what else she called him. Flagging down the female bartender, he decided to make do with a drink, even though he knew it was going to make him super sick later on. He just couldn’t care less. If he was to somehow ‘live’ through tonight, he would require a magical elixir.

Vodka shots-possibly more than five-entered his system in no time at all. His throat and esophagus component singed and burned as he downed the putrid beverage, but he needed so desperately to blend in. While nodding and bobbing his head in time with the thunderous beat and booming of stomping, dancing feet, he felt his thirium turning thick, heavy, and it flowed ever so slowly in his system. His thirium pump throbbed at a deliciously torpid, languid pace, but he relished in it. He _loved it_. The lights beamed and burned into his skin, making him feel as though he’d already been melting. People moved by at both a snail’s pace, but also at lightning speed. What a delightfully sick, twisted moment to go through...

Painful ordeal, treacherous glory.

“Hey there.”

Turning his head to the left, he nearly groaned in disgust when a young man no older than twenty-five at the most nodded at him in a move of acknowledgment. He was Asian American, had slicked-back hair, a few piercings in his eyebrows and ears, and tanned skin that seemed to glow beneath the lights. Eyebrows cleaned and plucked nicely, his lips were far too plump to be natural, Nines thought.

_If I ignore him, he’ll go away._

Scoffing when Nines failed to reply to his greeting, the Asian man drawled, “What’s up?”

Seething, Nines bunched his fists tightly as he willed himself not to say a word. He wasn’t even flattered that both men and women were drawn to him. Frankly, he just wished to be left alone, but he didn’t know how to voice this without sounding crass and boorish. Anger stirred within himself, but he didn’t think it would be fair to dish it out at the young man standing next to him.

Glancing back and forth between Nines’ near empty glass and the copious amounts of alcohol behind the bar, the Asian man asked gingerly, “C-can I get you something?”

Sipping on the last bits of his vodka shot, Nines licked his lips, wiped the residue of the alcohol with the back of his hand, and grunted deeply. Eyes bouncing up to meet the dark brown ones of the youth standing far too close to him, he allowed disgust and revulsion to spring his answer.

“How about a big sack of fuck off?” Smirking sarcastically, he arched his back, slid his hands off the surface of the counter and walked away without another word. He knew he’d been more than rude, but the situation called for it. Who was he kidding by showing up here to begin with?? One-night stands weren’t his thing; he was in love with Gavin, and no one was going to replace that. There _never _would be another man, even if he’d wanted so.

He stood and paced throughout the seedy bar, gliding and weaving past tables. No path had been set with certainty, but he knew he had to keep moving once he worked his way beyond the dancers and exotic displays in order to make it through the back halls of the night club. A few people were already passed out and the ones still cognizant were either engaging in perverse sex acts or using heavy narcotics. He had no business here amid the neon blue and purple decorations and lights, but he kept moving further down the tight hall leading past the washrooms.

The sounds of retching, burping, and moaning hit his audio receptors. Wanting to turn back, Nines shifted away from the door of the men’s washroom and turned to face a half drawn-back pink curtain. Peeking past it, he found a small room where a few teenagers obviously way too young to be here sat getting high. They passed a bong around, giggling and snorting while a few women lay draped over sofas and cushions.

No…this wouldn’t do, either.

Moving away, he’d barely whirled around when he found the same Asian man leaning against the opposite wall a few feet away from him. The young affrayer had pursued him all this time. Angry that he hadn’t noticed it sooner, Nines snarled as he ignored the other male. When he tried moving past him, however, the pursuer stuck out an arm to stop him.

Livid, Nines growled deeply in a warning. “Get out of my way.”

At once, the Asian man gripped his shoulders and shoved him roughly and swiftly. Nines couldn’t begin to understand how someone so young and so fragile looking possessed the strength and stamina to ram him against the wall, but it’d happened in the blink of an eye. Back resting against the wall flatly, Nines could only gape while the man smirked in triumph.

Tilting his head down suggestively between Nines’ thighs, the ardent young man moaned. Dipping himself down low, his fingers grazed the way down the android’s abdomen, hips, and right between his legs.

Wincing as he was gripped firmly, Nines rasped desperately, “Stop…get the hell off me!”

“Shh,” the young man cooed, already working Nines’ zipper down. “You just close your eyes and pretend it’s someone you like…”

Watching as the troublesome male first pushed back his hood and then unzipped him the rest of the way with his teeth, Nines blinked before shaking in rage. _No. Stop. This isn’t right…I don’t need this from any other guy except Gavin…_

A warm pressure over his boxers had been what broke him out of his reverie. Screaming in fright, Nines leapt back in an attempt to break away from the other male’s mouth over his cock. Tripping over a discarded beer can in the process, Nines clumsily bashed himself against the door to the women’s washroom and tumbled in. The moment his head knocked into the floor, he saw error messages and warnings flitting up and down across his eyes.

Groaning, he held his skull in both hands as he turned to get back on his knees and crawl away from the imminent screaming which belonged to the women in the washroom. However, once his vision steadied, and once he’d regained his energy, he noticed that save for two feet beneath the stall closest to himself, the room was empty.

Odd…

Whispers and hissing sounded from the other side of the stall, and Nines was curious. He figured if teenagers were here shooting themselves up with drugs, he could at least report them and escort them out. Vowing to do so, he approached the stall door, knowing it was already tightly locked.

Raising his right leg, on the count of ‘three’, he kicked it in as powerfully as he could.

Once he saw who was inside the stall, he had to pause before grinning away madly.

*x*x*x*x*x*

Crossing his arms over his chest, Nines snickered acerbically. “Well then, didn’t think I’d ever see _you_ here, Tina.”

Officer Tina Chen looked beyond mortified as she stood huddled next to another woman with long brown hair and a wonderfully pleasant figure. The other stunned female already had the straps of her bra pulled down, her cheeks were flushed, and one leg of her fishnet stockings had been yanked down. Needless to say, it didn’t take Nines too long to figure out that he’d interrupted something interesting, here.

Tina’s lips were swollen, and a hickey had already formed on the pallor of her neck. Wincing, she whispered to him, “Nines…what the actual fuck?!?”

Shrugging, the android coldly answered, “You tell me, Tina.”

Tina’s partner snapped out of her frozen state, and she shrieked as she turned away from Nines to hurry along with readjusting her dark dress. Once she was finished, her heels clicked away on the tiles of the bathroom floor, and she fled out the restroom in a jiffy.

Nines hung his head low while Tina shifted her clothes back in order. Fixing her disheveled hair, she soon spat at him, “Oh, don’t act so high and mighty, Nines!”

Scoffing, Nines retorted, “Hey, I’m not the one making out in filthy bathrooms.”

Planting a hand on her right hip, Tina admonished scathingly, “Yeah? Well, sorry to break it to you, but we _both_ were caught with our pants down.”

Peeking down at his zipper and jeans, Nines groaned once he realized he hadn’t zipped himself back up yet. Doing that while Tina took her rightful turn to smirk at him, he eventually straightened himself as he sighed, “Guess you know all my secrets now, huh?”

In defeat, suddenly, Tina exhaled weakly, “You know the one secret I was hoping to take with me to the grave.”

The android only silently regarded her, though his eyes said plenty.

Shrugging coolly, she answered back truthfully, “I didn’t think much of it, but then again, I can’t go around telling my entire family I’m a lesbian, you know.” Chewing her lower lip, a pained expression overcame her as she moved to one of the sinks and began washing her hands and face.

“I heard you’re having issues with Gavin,” she eventually commented while Nines observed her plainly. Humming to herself, Tina groused, “Expectations suck, don’t they?”

Not wanting to give his problems more credence, the android merely grunted, “How about I handle my own issues, Tina, and you handle yours?”

Shaking her head in a disparaging way, Tina rebuked potently, “You’re committing adultery? Wow.” Her eyes met his through the mirror as she added acerbically, “I thought you were better than that, Nines.”

Pointing at himself sharply, he exclaimed, “I’m _single!_ I can do as I please.” Wasn’t that how it went?? After all, Gavin had had plenty of partners as well. That was what happened without commitment!

Sighing a forlorn sigh, Tina muttered under her heated breath, “Don’t even want to know, so I won’t ask.” Turning off the faucet, she flicked water at him as she threatened, “I should kick your ass for spoiling my date!!”

“Such a limited imagination, Tina,” Nines chided, “don’t threaten me with a good time.”

Wiping the rest of the water off her hands with a paper towel, Tina inquired sharply, “Nines, aren’t you cheating on Gavin by being here?” Pointedly, she elucidated cleverly, “You guys are supposed to be _together_; not looking to fuck other people.”

“You’re one to preach,” the vitriolic android groused, “at least I’m okay with people knowing I prefer members of my own sex.” Stepping up to the female, he acidly threw out, “Why don’t _you_ work on that before educating me on the whims of relations with other men? Hmm?”

As rude and as cold as he was, Tina still took it rather well. Waving him off, she gave out a small smile as she sighed, “Nines, I just needed to accept myself, but if it’s okay, may I ask for you not to go shouting about this to everyone we work with?” Eyes shifting back to the door, she hurriedly pressed on. “It’s not that I don’t trust you; I just need more time.”

Noticing a few women walking past the door in the hall, Nines nodded, putting aside his personal bias for the time being. “Your secret’s safe with me, Tina,” he promised her seriously, wiping some dirt off his jeans. “I’m great with secrets.”

Patting him on the back, the confident woman gently advised, “Whatever you choose to do, Nines, is up to you, but I promise you won’t find anyone like Gavin.” Stopping at the door, her hand wavered a few times before she decided to grip the handle steadily.

Glancing over her shoulder, she softly orated, “Good luck to you, Nines. I truly hope you find what you’re looking for, but I’ll have you know, Gavin’s probably the best person you could hope to be with.” Waving in goodbye, she was gone in less than a few seconds.

Once the door gently shut, Nines glanced down shamefully at his feet. “I know,” he stated more to himself than to Tina. “And that’s why I love him…”

More women were soon flocking in, and he had to head out before they shouted at him. Pulling his hood back up, he made sure to sneak between their swaying, inebriated bodies. Feeling emptier and lonelier than he ever recalled feeling in a long time, Nines wandered aimlessly through the night club. Perhaps other people could have the time of their lives, but it was an impossible thing for himself to feel and experience. Tina’s words repeatedly echoed in his mind as he stopped abruptly when a male table dancer and stripper’s hand shot out and tugged at his hair. The music blasted louder and louder, and the dancer’s fingernails scraped sensually along the skin of his scalp in all the best ways.

Eyeing the form he was most drawn to, Nines mused, _How humans pursue their fleeting chances…_

Reaching into his pockets after he’d taken a moment to enjoy the dancer’s abs and chiseled sternum, Nines fished out at least two-hundred dollars in bills. Leaning against the table, he hummed in approval and gratitude once the exotic male dancer dipped himself back and showed off his toned abs, arms, and thighs. Nines could definitely tell that he’d had some work done with his entire chest area, but he didn’t mind the view. Stuffing the bills in the back strap of the dancer’s bright red thong, he let his hot fingers slide over the man’s tight ass, and he’d only started to enjoy himself when someone shoved him violently in the sternum.

Glancing down, Nines discovered that an errant patron, a long-haired blonde man with tanned skin, strong, nauseating cologne, bushy brown eyebrows, and dark, chocolate-brown beady eyes had attacked him. When he rose out of his seat at the table, he huffed and rolled up the sleeves of his black shirt in a clear display of aggression.

“The fuck do you think you’re doin’, dumbass?” Nodding and gesturing over his shoulder at the dancer, he spat with venom, “That there is _my_ show right now, so wait your god damn AAARGH!!!”

His nose gushed and spewed a fountain of blood; Nines’ fist had moved way too quickly.

Cradling his broken bone, the man screamed out, “I’ll f-fuck you up!!”

Pleasurable. Promising. Delightful.

Ravenously, Nines wasted no time at all. His nascent temper soared, possessing him in ways he was enthralled and enchanted by. Yes, it appeared he _could_ still shed blood, but in a much better way, now...there was heavy numbness throbbing through his nerves and veins, making his limbs tingle and seem heavy, much like the feeling of numbness upon an awakening.

Due to his busted nose, the other man nasillated, “Face m-me, f-freak!!”

Wish granted, and pleasantly so.

Drawing back his clenched right fist, with his left hand, Nines yanked the idiotic man forth by his shirt collar. For a quick moment, a mixture of terror and a negatory expression appeared on the long-haired man’s pale face. It very much pleased Nines; he longed to see it there some more.

Once, twice, his fist lashed out. In quick succession, Nines punched the aggressive man brutally. He tripped and stumbled back while shielding himself from the blows, and then went sailing into a nearby table, knocking and spilling the glasses and bottles of alcohol a group of other bearded, burly men were trying to enjoy.

Big mistake.

“You fucking asshole!!”

The newly nettlesome patrons added on to the currently turbulent scene. Very quickly, chaos and destruction exploded within the crowded bar. In no time at all, factious and pent-up men joined in on the inept brawl. At the peak of the madness and atrocity, the obviously disgruntled bar owner rang up his security team. Large, muscly men dashed ahead from nowhere, lunging at each other while attempting to pry the battling, heated men from one another.

Wicked. Facinorous. Excellent.

Knowing he’d been the sole cause of the entire ordeal, Nines pleasantly crept away from the skirmish with great eloquence. More men joined in the fray, and soon, furniture was being thrown in every direction. It was too wonderful.

Among the chaos and madness, Nines stumbled into his stalker one more time. The young man gaped in shock at the violent battle going on in the background, and then peered at Nines shyly. His innocent gaze caused Nines to smirk in pride.

In a few fell swoops, Nines closed the distance between their bodies, and he firmly gripped the man by the back of his neck. Drawing their bodies closely together, Nines crashed his lips over the shocked man’s. The kiss lasted five seconds at the most, and Nines abruptly pulled away. Chuckling while the young Asian man nearly crumbled to his knees in shock, he threw out huskily, “See ya, kid.”

Slinking out of the bar while snickering fiendishly to himself, he kept his jactancy to himself, lest he be noticed and caught. Returning to the sullied, corrupted streets once again, he resumed his aimless journey, pacing and walking up along the street he was on currently. It stretched on and on for some time, the lecherous sights, odors, and sounds his only companions while he traveled deeper into the underbelly of the dirty city.

Walking on without much of a direction had soon taken its toll on him, however. His vision turned hazy, blurry, and messy at once. Bio-components on fire, he clutched at his stomach as he felt the acid and alcohol rising like bile in his throat. Knowing he would unfortunately have to pay the price for his selfish over-indulgence eventually, he quickly ran down a narrow, abandoned alleyway. Doubling down, Nines faced a few dumpsters and vomited everything out.

Closing his eyes and praying for it all to be over with soon, Nines pushed and heaved one last time. Bowels and contents of his system now fully empty, he crashed down on the cold, hard pavement in a weak heap. Curling his knees into his chest, his eyes remained closed as he felt his skull throbbing.

Opening up various photos he’d stored and filed away in his system, Nines settled for the very first selfie he’d taken in his apartment with Gavin back in autumn. It seemed so long ago, yet so brand-new. How that could be possible troubled and disturbed the sick android, but he couldn’t fathom or care ‘why’ right now.

Smiling in his own amusement, he focused intently on the image, remembering it as clear as if it had happened yesterday. Hanging onto the fresh, crisp image, he slowly draped his arms over his knees.

Chuckling to himself one last time, he zoomed in on Gavin’s forced smile while he sat close to him on the sofa. Why did it feel like he had a large, gaping wound in the middle of his chest?

No matter. If he had to remain alone, it was better to just keep on smiling.

“I win.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's a wrap, Nines.


	68. What the Heart Wants

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some awesome characters return!

The walk stretching all the way from the DPD back to his apartment after a long, gruesome day of work somehow helped clear his head, and so, Nines made it a habit to walk every day. It didn’t matter to him that he was a machine and would never need physical exercise; it kept his ultrageous thoughts at bay. Until the middle of the second week of January, he made it a new habit to walk daily, and he ventured out of his apartment while thinking deeply to himself. Never straying too far, Nines’ purpose for walking was to regulate his mood, thoughts, feelings, and to try and gain some levity in his life. The things that Hank and Connor had pontificated about had actually taken quite a unique hold on him more so than he surmised would occur. Nines had opened up to the two co-workers he trusted the most about what really had happened between Gavin and himself, and to his amusement, Hank seemed livid with Gavin.

The old Lieutenant stated that although what Gavin had done was in fact wrong, Nines still needed to step down and reserve enough time and space for both himself and Gavin before they got together and resumed their communication. Nines of course didn’t really see the need, nor did he want to, but when he’d flat out refused, one stern, smoldering look delivered to him from Hank Anderson was enough to shut his mouth for the time being.

“Communication is key, Nines,” Hank advised in his own sapient way one chilly afternoon. During one of his infamous ‘breaks’, the retired Lieutenant had decided to sit down and chat with Nines while the gloomy android pouted at his own desk with quite little to do in the way of work.

Suddenly, the human heaved out a woeful, nostalgic sigh. “You know, sometimes I wonder…maybe if I too had talked to my wife more after what happened to Cole, _maybe_ things would be different, now…”

As Nines pensively listened on, Hank’s calm voice droned on softer and softer in the background while his own concerns and fears rose to the surface like an open wound festering. Overnight, it seemed all the lived and doctored horrors that had once agrized and plagued his mind he once foolishly assumed as dead were revived. Withering away with the winds of novelty, he felt their poisonous grasps and sedition melt his bio-sensors and bio-components. This was worse than any cancer humans could experience…there was no antidote…no cure…

Yes, perhaps misery and pain would interminably calumniate and besmirch him, chasing him to the ends of the Earth and back. Just because fate was a fickle bitch, too, and shit, did it ever make him feel alamort.

Hank continued conversing with him, completely unaware that his ‘listener’ wasn’t truly listening. “Maybe if I’d put in an effort to try and understand her position-what she was going through-maybe we could’ve worked things out somehow…”

_Maybe…_

Toying with his beard, Hank sighed wistfully. Leaning back in his chair, he swiped a donut from a box Connor carried by towards Tina Chen, causing the RK800 to slap him on the back of the hand for it.

Arrogantly flipping him off, Hank muttered, “That’s just what I’ve learned as an old fart, Nines, but you will find your own way, I’m sure.” Eyeing his snack with zeal, he licked his lips and picked off a small sprinkle. Pausing, he glanced over at Nines, and then scowled. “Hey, were you even listening to me, Nines?”

Propping a hand beneath his chin, Nines rolled his eyes and blandly replied, “Always, Lieutenant.”

Clearly catching on to the lie, Hank waved him off. “Ah, screw you! You damn punk!” Though he was more so joking, he shook his head back and forth in dismay while he chomped on his sugary meal, paying no mind to the crumbs rolling down his chin onto his chest.

While Hank devoured his treat, Nines glanced across the bullpen, and his eyes curiously met Tina’s. The young woman who remained extremely reticent about her personal affairs gave him a small, plaintive nod, and Nines returned it, followed by a tiny wave of pure understanding and gratitude.

*x*x*x*x*x*

He took his time and his space. Gavin knew where he lived, and he figured that whenever the moody detective was ready for him, he’d come find him. It suited Nines just fine this way, and while the weather of the rest of January fluctuated strangely, the android busied himself with his walking and took each day one step at a time.

On the day of Friday, January 24th, Nines set off for a morning jog. Targeting his usual go-to places, he found that the routine had ended quickly within fifteen minutes of a brisk run. There was no place else to go, and at almost nine-twenty-five in the morning, things were bleak, algid and suddenly so boring…he needed a change.

Craving that change, Nines decided to just go anywhere. He had no real spot in mind, and he promised himself to keep going until he found something quite novel and random. Gone were the feelings of organization, consistency, and abiding by a schedule. Now, Nines just wanted to go with the flow and see what happened. He didn’t really care. He allowed his body to make most of the decisions for him, and as his boots stomped and sloshed about a nasty mixture of mud, rain, and snow, the tall android paraded through the sludge covered streets casually. It was a turgid journey, though he didn’t wish for it to end, soon. After all, whenever it came to an end, he would have to return reluctantly to his cold, dreary apartment which still held a lot of Gavin’s personal belongings…

Sighing when he knew he was beyond weak for not being able to toss all the items out, Nines wandered through the streets as he stared about at everything and nothing. His long, thick trench coat and ankle-high combat boots were relatively soaked, but he didn’t care. Hands sinking further and deeper within his pockets, he ignored the stares and gaping of some denizens walking their dogs, jogging, or driving by through the wet streets. Above, despite it being early in the day, the sky was pure grey. Not even a hint of a tiny white cloud lingered, and the air was cold, crisp, and gloomy. A fog set out along the distant horizon, and the leafless trees looked beyond sickly and haunting as a small breeze caused them to sway eerily.

Trying not to give too much credence and power to how crappy the environment was, Nines only stopped walking when the sidewalk beneath his feet grew slippery. Gazing down at its smooth surface, the ostentatious android reflected back at him only scowled when he did, and then sneered when he did.

“You useless mimic…” Now, he truly felt the weight of the blandishing words and accusation Gavin had once flung his way. If anything, Gavin was highly skilled in subjecting people to bismer, and Nines wasn’t the exemption.

Why had he been so accurate?! Why had he felt everything? Why had Nines allowed him to get so damn close??

Resisting the urge to roar out in frustration at his own convoluted thoughts, Nines took a moment to survey around his environment. Everything was so dull, grey, and cold, that a certain ominous aura permeated through the air. Detroit seemed genuinely creepy today, but Nines felt like this part of town held a different vibe. As icicles hung down from rusted street and store signs while the tonant wind picked up, Nines felt his mood shifting from bad to worse. Yes, it was more venomous, imbued with the stench of corruption, here.

And what had been corrupted?

…Everything he had to offer…well, maybe he thought so because of his preconceptions lately. After all, a jaundiced person saw the world in yellow shades, so they said…

A loud motorcycle engine roaring and purring in the distance did nothing for him, but the heavy scent of Asian cooking wafting in the air captured his interest. His system alerted him to something familiar, and somewhat associated such scents with a welcoming nature. Feeling pleasantries washing over and taking control, Nines eyed the small Asian takeout restaurant he’d purchased food from twice in the last year.

It had already seemed so very long ago since he’d even stepped around the vicinity of the place, but he still felt warm and welcome, here. The shop itself even looked quite lovely and approachable; yellow, orange, green, and blue lights flashed around the lining of the transpicuous windows, and all sorts of mystical creatures had been painted over the clean glass. Steam rose out of the top of the building, and Nines suspected the chef was busy cooking something, perhaps.

Well, he clearly saw the ‘Open’ sign, and he didn’t really need much more in the way of an invitation. Eyeing the handle of the door, he yanked it back, and he helped himself inside.

As the tiny bells mounted high on the corner of the door jingled and announced his presence, he couldn’t help but smile. Strange, such a small, meaningless thing many would take for granted brought such a genuine smile to his face, uncalled for and effortlessly.

The smaller things in life truly did appeal to him, and he found himself wondering why.

*x*x*x*x*x*

The moment Nines sat down at a stool in front of the red counter, the creative chef poked his head out of the kitchen, and he waved at him.

“Hello! What you want?”

Raising his eyebrows gracefully, Nines had been in the middle of getting out a half-polite response, when ‘grandma’ stepped out of the kitchen swiftly. Moving faster than lightning for a lady of her age, she swooped down and snatched up the chef’s right ear in between her thin, bony fingers. Tugging and twisting his ear with much strength and power, she had reduced the grown, adult male into a cowering, whimpering mess within seconds.

Dancing on the spot, the chef whined dramatically, “Ow! Ow! Ow! Ooowww!! Grandmaaa!!!”

Delivering quite the hefty lecture in Japanese, the elderly woman scolded the chef for ages as Nines sat and watched. His eyes caught movement behind ‘grandma’, and as he craned his neck upwards, a small smile instantaneously was upon his face when he saw the little Japanese android girl.

She held a tiny doll in her arms that looked a lot like herself. Both the doll and the little girl had their black hair hanging down past their shoulders, though the girl’s bangs had been carefully and neatly held back by little green hairpins. Wearing a loose, black and white long sleeve shirt with kittens all over it and dark jeans, the little android girl waved her hand at Nines shyly. As her hand swished through the air, Nines felt the need to mimic her greeting. Silently, he returned her smile as politely as possible. She seemed thrilled by this, and while her ‘grandma’ and the chef argued in Japanese, she held up her hand again, and then peeled back her human layer of skin to reveal ghost-white android skin.

Nines only smiled wider, and he did the same with the hand he’d waved at her with. Though they both made no move to initiate contact and interface, their motions had been enough to shake ‘grandma’ and the chef out of their squabble. They both stared over at Nines, and the android bashfully reactivated his human skin and pressed his hand down at his side.

Almost with an air of reluctance about himself, the chef approached Nines, and then bowed his head at him on the other side of the counter. “Sorry,” he murmured in a hushed tone that depicted how penitent he was. “I mean to say: Welcome! What can I get for you today?”

Frowning a small frown, Nines sighed as he sat up. “I’m not a human,” he pointed out while gesturing at where his LED light once used to be. “I’m an android, and I’ve come here before twice…once, I was with someone, and then the last time, I came alone.” Eyes landing on the little girl, he beamed at her before adding, “Your daughter handed me a fortune cookie last time.”

The chef stared over at the android child in disbelief, and then he summoned her over. Obediently, she rushed to his side, and he held an arm around her. Clinging to his apron while clutching at her doll with a free hand, she smiled at Nines, and grandma looked at them all in amusement as her eyes twinkled.

Nodding, the chef exclaimed proudly, “Chihiro is android, too!”

“Chihiro? What a lovely name…” Nines smiled again. “Yes, I know. She’s a lovely little girl.”

As Chihiro flashed him a pearly white smile in gratitude, Nines pointed at the chef. “And your name?”

Baffled, the chef asked in a truncated gasp, “Why me?”

“I guess I’m just looking to talk to anyone these days,” Nines found himself admitting quietly. “I didn’t mean to bother you, but I’m honestly lonely.” He knew his words would’ve cultivated some confusion and alarm within the chef and ‘grandma’. The elderly Japanese woman seemed serious, suddenly, though she wasn’t in an ‘attacking’ mood while she wrung her hands above her waistline.

Pressing a hand against his own chest, the chef introduced himself. “I’m Takumi Yamazaki.” Then, he gestured sedulously towards ‘grandma’. “She is my grandmother.”

Smiling cheerfully at them both, Nines stated his own name, and he then heard grandma speaking Japanese to the chef. She was looking straight at Nines when she spoke, however, and in no time, Takumi looked back and forth between Nines and grandma.

Not wanting to be too nosy, Nines politely asked, “Is everything okay?”

Chihiro looked a little sad, and as she fixed Nines with a rather mature look for a child, grandma finished whispering something else in Japanese. Nines had decided to give the older woman the respect and dignity she deserved; he didn’t want to pry in the conversation and translate whatever it was she was saying to her grandson. The conscious decision to stay out of the conversation while hanging onto the hope that Takumi would share something with him was all Nines had to abide by.

Pertinent to how he was feeling being on the receiving end of whatever grandma had been saying at the height of being superfluous and loquacious, Takumi looked sorrowful as he commented openly, “Grandma says that there has been some trouble with you and your friend.”

…..

The old woman was far too wise, and Nines didn’t even want to bother asking how she knew. The only thing he was certain of without a shred of doubt was that this woman was a highly pithy individual, and he was immediately drawn to her sagacious wisdom.

Scratching the left side of his bearded face, Takumi gently stated, “You care very much for your friend, and he cares for you, but you’re both scared…”

Nines frowned, “I do care about him, yes, but I think you’re wrong.” He heard Chihiro’s shoes scraping along the floor, and then he fixed her with a tiny gaze. She met it on an equal level, her black eyes shining like small marbles. Nines had never known or seen a child to look so mature, and he was taken by surprise while Chihiro inched closer and closer towards him. Her father didn’t seem to want to stop her, as he’d already been staring intently at Nines during their conversation.

Suddenly, grandma bowed her head, speaking in soft, gentle Japanese that almost sounded like poetry since it was so lovely to Nines. He could listen to the way grandma spoke for hours and never grow bored of it.

Translating it for him, Takumi announced, “She says fear is good; it shows you are deeply caring for your friend and put him above yourself.”

A faint tap resonated against the edge of the counter, and Nines stared down at Chihiro. She was so close to him, now, and as she’d grown closer, he took time to study her pure, white porcelain skin. She truly resembled a doll…

Smiling at her while speaking to both Takumi and grandma, Nines could only constate emotionally, “I do care for my friend, but I’m afraid my feelings were never returned.”

With a smile hovering in her eyes and on her lips, grandma bowed her head. Takumi wrung his hands just as grandma had previously done, and he whispered, “Love is a daring, complicated thing. It never holds any promise that it will be returned, understood, or valued. But we keep on loving, we keep on giving our love, and sometimes, we think about unconditional love and how to achieve it.”

Completely stymied and bewildered yet again by how accurate this was, and also by how it was possible that he’d underestimated this man, Nines could only stare transfixed and in awe. Chihiro soon climbed up on a small chair so she could be tall enough to lean herself over the counter, and she pushed her doll towards Nines. The android curiously gazed at it, and when she flashed him her little white teeth, Nines reached out for the doll. Holding it in both his hands, he ran his fingers through its soft, shiny black hair, took his time to admire its little red skirt and black shoes, and then gaped at Chihiro.

Grandma approached, next, and she lay a hand over the back of his. Speaking to him in soothing Japanese that almost made him warm from the inside out, Nines waited for Takumi to translate.

Shyly, the chef stated, “Grandma said that there is only one kind of romantic love in this world, and it is the rarest, truest kind of love everyone wants to feel once.”

Eyes flickering down at the doll, and then at Chihiro, Nines held up a free hand, android skin flashing before the child. She also raised her hand, and peeling her human skin away, she slowly began to close the gap between their fingers.

Both grandma and Takumi watched as the two androids connected by their fingers, first. As their interfacing began due to an established connection, tiny sparks flew back and forth between the tips of their fingers. The bond grew stronger, and as it did, Chihiro looped her fingers around Nines’, and then the taller, male android pressed their palms flush together. The things she’d opened him up to were absolutely beyond his wildest imagination, and he could hardly contain a tiny squeal as he swam through her experiences and shared memories.

While this went on, Takumi gently placed a hand over his daughter’s shoulders, and he spoke far too softly. “I lost my love, once, but even when my life lost meaning, I didn’t want to continue not knowing what love is.” As the sparks grew and sizzled, he smiled wider. “I tried loving again, and when my wife and unborn child were taken from me, I created my own love, and in turn, it created me…it still creates me right now…”

He’d found his purpose within Chihiro, and she’d found hers within Takumi and grandma.

“I just…want…a…family…” The words slipped out, and as they had, Nines felt Chihiro pushing her hand up against his ever so tightly. It seemed as if it was her truest wish and desire to never part from him, and she focused her eyes on their joined limbs while her LED light remained as yellow as Nines’ would have been had he still kept his.

His emotional responses mixed in with hers, and as grandma and Takumi studied and observe him with sad expressions, Nines sniffled. He couldn’t cry, not like humans, but he still felt their emotions as deeply as ever. The empathy was too great and far too much for him to take, and he dropped his hand away from Chihiro’s.

She let out a sad, pained cry, and Nines kept his eyes off hers while murmuring, “I’m not a good person, and I don’t deserve love.”

Wagging her index finger at him, grandma spoke down to him in Japanese, and as the words all spilled out of her mouth and freely flew past her rosy lips, Takumi exhaled lightly, “Who decides in the grand scheme what’s ‘good’ and what’s ‘bad’? Who are we to judge when we have such a limited view and understanding of how the world works, and what nature’s plans for us really are?”

But was he even a force of nature?? No…he wasn’t at all; he was a product of a man’s vain imaginings and a laboratory experiment gone wrong. Feeling quite lowly, Nines hung his head, and as he sadly sighed, he almost missed the way both Chihiro and grandma lay their hands over his arm.

The larger hand compared to how small the little girl’s was still was a mystery to Nines. Both of their touches felt so warm, and he could’ve sworn that Chihiro’s burned the warmest…strange, when he looked into her eyes, he saw them beaming the brightest, too.

Had he been wrong? Had he been the fool?

“We all deserve love,” Takumi stated. “Grandma says you had plans for this friend you’re clearly infatuated with, and you still hold him dear in your heart.”

As he’d stated this, Chihiro moved her little hand up from Nines’ forearm, and then pressed it down solidly over where his thirium pump was located. She giggled when she felt it pumping and working, and Nines offered her a small, contagious chuckle of his own. It made even grandma smile, and as she gently rubbed his hand, Takumi continued.

“Don’t let yourself go. Read your fortune and harken to its wisdom.” Eyes candescent with a supreme wisdom flowing back and forth between himself and grandma, the older Asian woman sang out many words and phrases Nines couldn’t catch, and Takumi took them all in while he nodded in awe.

Lips moving quickly, grandma declaimed, “Unmei no akai ito.”

Softly, Takumi pointed out for the android, “Red thread of fate. It is said in Japanese culture that fate, destiny, or karma joins lovers by an unseen string, tied around one little finger of each partner. It’s how soul mates find and are drawn to each other.”

Raising his brows in awe, Nines could only sit by and watch as Chihiro grabbed a pen and a piece of paper. Sitting herself beside him, she delicately and expertly drew the Asian symbols, joining them and connecting them together. It was art right before him, and Nines was stunned. Chihiro mesmerized him with how knowledgeable she was, her lines and characters not even once faltering or slipping in the way of an error.

When she had finished, grandma placed a hand on her shoulder, obviously beaming down at her in pride as she presented the characters before Nines.

姻緣紅線

Sharing a proud smile of his own, Takumi explained, “This is the legendary red string of destiny that binds all soul mates or lovers together. No one can get in the way of your fate if it is meant to be.”

Motioning down with his head at his pockets, Nines cried, “I’ve…I’ve kept my fortune cookies, and I looked at them…” Was he ridiculous to do so?

As if reading his thoughts immediately, grandma whispered something, and Takumi quickly said, “Everyone has a fortune, but you can believe it if you have courage. Open your eyes to it, see it, and you will then maybe understand.”

Listening more to this man than he ever dreamt possible, Nines reminded himself to be open, to learn, and to embrace his experiences. These people hadn’t even known him for a few minutes, and already, their words made perfect sense to him. It was a strange new emotion, and the RK900 felt rather enlightened, yet abashed all at once. He’d judged humans he didn’t even want to give a proper chance to so harshly, and he was feeling absolutely lower than dirt for it.

Why had he given himself the misbegotten permission to do such a thing? Where was the evidence that he was so high and mighty and above humans?

Stroking his hand warmly as if he were her own son, grandma bowed her head again, and she said one final thing in an almost loving way before turning around and walking down the hall past the kitchen. Chihiro and Takumi lingered, each of them staring at Nines while smiling an equally matching pair of friendly, accepting smiles.

Sitting back on the stool, Nines moved his eyes upwards before snickering a friendly sort of a snicker. His legs glided along the smooth, clean floor, and he only whispered, “I have something very important to do, but I don’t think I can do it just yet.”

Nodding once, Takumi gathered little Chihiro into his arms and picked her up. Nines handed her the dainty little doll back, and no longer feeling so taciturn and shut off from the rest of the world, the android could only say, “Thank you all for teaching me something new here, today.”

Cheerfully, Takumi bid him farewell just in time when another customer walked into the store.

“Come back any time, friend…”

Waving at Nines for a brief moment, he paused, looked over at his daughter, chuckling fondly. She giggled as she held up her hand, and then made it so that her doll also waved goodbye at Nines auspiciously.

Nines winked playfully at her before disappearing out the door with his smile still hanging back in the shop.

*x*x*x*x*x*

The entire rest of the month of January breezed by, and February started out nicely. The harshness of winter slowly fizzled out, and it seemed like the United States had truly been blessed with one of the mildest winters on record. By the start of the second week of February, a generous amount of snow had melted away, and rainfall graced the lands. It snowed on and off afterwards, but it wasn’t as cold and as dangerous outside. The weather reports stayed consistent with promises of showers, on and off sunshine, and gentle breezes up until the end of the second week of February.

Along with this month, Nines resumed his jogging, got lost in his clashing, recondite thoughts, and still tried to figure out what to do about his feelings for Gavin. Though the android had almost drawn his own conclusions, he was still sensing pain. He didn’t consider himself supremely rarefied by any stretch of the imagination, but he knew he had done nothing to earn the contempt and abhorrent hatred and alienation Gavin had thrown his way.

Gavin hadn’t bothered initiating contact, and Nines was worried. Though he was worried for Gavin, an insurmountably greater amount of concern had been reserved for Carrie Moser. The woman was severely sick, and Nines didn’t know whether she was getting worse any other way. He wanted to respect Gavin’s wishes in staying away, no matter what his instincts told him, and no matter how much he wanted to at least grace Carrie with one visit.

She didn’t deserve to be alone, and neither did Gavin, for that matter…

But then again, perhaps it was better this way; perhaps Gavin was sending him a clear message in his silence. Maybe he did in fact wish to be left alone…

Nines didn’t want this, and seeing as February 14th was Valentine’s day, the sour, moody android hated the commercialized propaganda pushing for couples. What a day, too. What was so damn special about _one_ day? Couldn’t couples be intimate, caring, kind, loving, and gentle with each other without all the chocolates, roses, cards, cakes, and other trinkets shoved down their throats so religiously, practically?! Why this day in particular?!

He’d been wondering this as he took a small stroll up and down his neighborhood, thinking importunate, bristly thoughts the entire time. Birds flew above him, cawing and chirping to one another. Water that had melted away from huge snowbanks slowly melting down slid away into the sewer grates, trickling and making tiny noises to accompany his thoughts. Once or twice, a dog or a cat would bark or hiss at him as he walked past rows and lines of houses, lost in all his inner musings.

This day…he was truly still alone on this day…this feeling could only be regarded as the apotheosis of abasement.

Making sure not to trip over a particularly deep hole in the sidewalk, Nines had been walking on ahead quickly, when he snapped up involuntarily. “Ahhhhhgggaa!” Clamping a hand over his mouth to muffle the odd cry that had escaped his mouth, he felt his head surging with a tingling, numbing sensation.

** _An item you ordered is now ready and available for pick up at your local post office! Thank you! _ **

With a pained groan, Nines kicked at bits of melting, moldy snow. It sloshed about his boots as he hissed to himself angrily, “Can’t believe I forgot to cancel it…”

He didn’t want it, not if Gavin didn’t, either.

Throwing his hands up at the sky, he stared at the clouds, as though they held all the answers for him.

“Should I—?”

What was he even thinking?! What had he been about to ask?!

Of course he needed to cancel it!! He had no use for it!!!

Making up his mind, Nines pressed on ahead, deciding to go on in person to the postal office and send the item back all the way from where he’d ordered it. Resolving this in person was always the best thing to do, and he figured he could also enjoy the sights and the walk as he pressed on.

His fingers of his left hand came up and adjusted the sleeve of the right hand of his trench coat, and as he made contact with his wrists, he purposefully avoided peeking down at the black punk leather bracelet Gavin had purchased for him as his Christmas gift.

Truthfully, Nines had been wearing that more than he cared to admit, paired with the red dragon vein dagger point stone pendant necklace.

Why did he persist in wearing these? At first when he caught himself doing it, Nines truthfully didn’t understand it. As an android, he knew he had no personal use for such materialistic items and things, and he had never tied anything emotional or substantial to these objects. No purpose and no symbols had been attached to any items or tools he’d previously used before, but now, he found he understood how and why humans and deviants got attached to some objects more than others.

Every object had some kind of an effect depending on the memory associated with it and built around it. These gifts had been given to him by someone he cared about and cherished the most in the entire world. While this individual was no longer actively in his life, the objects and items he’d left behind represented him.

Actually, they truly made Nines smile, as every time he peeked down at his necklace or bracelets, he remembered Gavin’s laugh and bright smile.

“You may not be here, Gavin, but you’re always with me, you know…”

Strange, it didn’t even feel so bad or odd talking to inanimate objects…in fact, it was comforting.


	69. Lost and Found

Nines had to fend and ward off plenty of oddities the moment he’d walked into the postal office. Since he lacked an LED light, he struggled to convince the postal workers and administrative assistants that he was there to receive a package he’d placed an order for long ago.

“I’m telling you just as I’ve been trying to tell you for the last ten minutes; I’m _not_ a damn mugger!!”

Judging him harshly due to his black trench coat, boots, and thick eyeliner, the workers there rolled their eyes and waved him off. “Right,” one of them sighed apathetically. “What android model are you again?”

Holding his hand up and revealing to them his pale android flesh, Nines declared vehemently, “I’m a god damn motherfucking RK900!”

Cringing upon hearing such cutting words, the employee rasped, “A-alright…there’s no need to get upset, sir!”

Bitingly, Nines threw back, “Then cut the bullshit and stop wasting my time.”

Confrontational in every way, a female supervisor whispered into one of her employee’s ears, and the younger man grunted at Nines. “Right...” Eyes darting about, it seemed like he was taking his time contemplating his next choice of words carefully before speaking.

“So you s-say you have a package?” he asked, his calm veneer shattering to reveal his bewilderment.

Resisting the urge to toss out a crude joke about his dick, Nines instead only offered, “Would you like the tracking number?”

With a swift nod garnishing her socially polite smile, the supervisor replied, “That would help.”

“Alright.” Lips curling back over his teeth to reveal an ugly, angry snarl, Nines calmly spoke out the number in full. As the worker entered it into the system and checked thoroughly, he blushed, flinched, and then swallowed thickly as though he’d been pushing and keeping down bile from rising up in his throat. 

Elbowing him impatiently, his supervisor whispered heatedly, “Find it!! We can’t keep customers waiting!!”

Squinting at the screen, her employee’s tiny dark brown eyes looked like raisins as his eyeballs shifted from left to right constantly. Tapping the touch screen furiously, his anxiety hit an all-time high when he failed to retrieve the information.

Hands planted on her wide hips, his supervisor snapped, “Well?! What’re you waiting for?”

“Ma’am,” he rasped as though she had been choking the life out of him through the use of an invisible source. “There is no information because th-the c-computer wipes itself e-every three d-days!!”

Huffing next to him, the female supervisor breathed down his neck like a fire-breathing dragon on the warpath and ready for battle. As her oragious eyes glowered at her employee, she snapped, “Just who in the name of moronic idiocy decided it would be a good idea to program the system to remove date and time stamps of older deliveries from the computer?!”

Wincing, the young male employee coughed meekly. “Y-y-you did, ma’am…”

She nodded firmly. “Thank you for owning up to your mistake.”

“Oh for fuck’s sake,” Nines breathed, wishing he could disappear from all this harrowing madness forever in the blink of an eye.

Turning his attention back to him, the male employee bowed his head. “I...a-apologize, s-sir,” he gulped, “...your item’s right h-here.”

Smugly grinning in his victory while the supervisor looked ashamed, Nines stood by and patiently waited. Soon, the employee placed the tiny box onto the counter, and after scanning it, he slid it toward Nines. 

Glaring away at it, the gothic android stated, “No, I want to return this. Send it back immediately.”

Crossing her arms over her chest, the supervisor took a defensive stance as she snapped moodily, “Nothing’s wrong with your item, I checked it myself.”

“Yeah,” her employee butted in. “This came a long way, sir...please, just take it with you.”

Jaw dropping, Nines felt his temper flaring. “Are you both hard of hearing?” he retorted bluntly, “I said I don’t want—”

Suddenly, the phone rang loudly like a siren. The supervisor answered it, and as she began speaking and maundering quickly, her employee blushed again and shrugged. “I’m sorry sir, but—”

Yanking his shoulders desperately, his supervisor hissed into the phone, “Yes! Right away, ma’am, we’re looking into it, now!” Tapping the computer screen her employee stood in front of, in mere seconds, they both forgot about Nines so they could attend to the more pressing, urgent incident. 

It would be impossible to get their attention, now, and Nines was already emotionally wiped after all the other cacophonous experiences he’d suffered through. Not even bothering with them anymore, he swiped the box off the counter, held it against his chest, and turned on his heel to leave.

*x*x*x*x*x*

Nines was truly surprised with himself. Back there in the postal office, he knew he’d behaved on a whim, and he took time now that he was outside to ponder why. Was there something wrong with him? Was he somehow malfunctioning? Could that have explained why he’d just brazenly taken the box along with himself?

Nines really didn’t know. Thinking about it longer than he already had wasn’t even helping or conducive to formulating an effective answer. If anything, doing so only angered him even further, and he was left feeling extremely confused. Damn this confusion in all its existence. What was there to be confused about, anyway?! He’d always been such a logical creature!

….

Gavin??

….

Perhaps...perhaps this was the wayward detective’s fault. After all, it was absolutely Gavin Reed’s fault that he was feeling this way to begin with! Prior to Gavin walking into his life so brazenly, Nines hadn’t felt a damn thing, and he was doing well to forget about James and all notions of love and romance. Why couldn’t the damn man just let him be?! Gavin had roused all this grief, and misery; Gavin had been the one to stir up all his feelings again! Gavin was to blame...and yet, Nines couldn’t bring himself to hate the sultry, recalcitrant man. He’d wanted that more than anything else in the world, but he couldn’t. As much as Nines wished he could despise Gavin Reed, he just was incapable of it. How odd. After all, it would be just, fair, reasonable, and the best, most responsible way to cope and move on.

….

But he couldn’t. Any probable association regarding detesting or loathing Gavin Reed was somehow deemed quite impossible by his mind. It was set and sealed in the permanent field of ‘no, never’, and though he tried, it just hurt and ached. It genuinely hurt to the point where he clutched at his chest and the box he was carrying. 

Why did it feel like he was going to pass out?! What was wrong?!

Jerking his head up, he surveyed the nearing areas, and to his sheer distress, he realized that he hadn’t even passed two damn blocks beyond the postal office. 

Fantastic.

“I...need a break...” Wheezing this actualization out loud to himself, Nines held the box in his opposite hand. Nearly tripping over portions of stubborn ice that insisted upon remaining over the sidewalk in spite of salt being sprayed generously over it, Nines held himself together by bracing his weight up by leaning his back against a bricked wall leading close to an alleyway between two abandoned, old buildings. In spite of only resting there for fifteen or so minutes, when Nines raked his gaze upwards, he discovered that the sky was already growing dark.

It was only noon...perhaps a storm was on the way, brewing high above in the clouds...

Shaking himself forcefully out of his stupor, he took one small step away from the tall, old building. Feeling just as decrepit as the establishment’s foundations itself, Nines yanked his trench coat lapels, and he carefully inched over ice and snow, walking like he was tiptoeing on eggshells. It was so cold and dark...

And just then, he caught a shadow shifting behind himself. It happened so quickly. In the blink of an eye, his audio receptors caught the sounds of boots crunching and stomping down on the hard ice. In a few short seconds, Nines was surrounded. Like vultures, three men were suddenly around him. Dressed from head to toe in nothing but black, their hoods were pulled down to cover their eyes and faces.

But it didn’t work in their favor. Nines had already scanned them quickly, and he huffed as he spat venomously, “Luke, Gary, and Captain Allen himself...can’t say I’m thrilled to see you three.”

The words were still fresh out of his mouth and hovering in the air when he was brutally beaten over the back of the head. Gary had taken him by surprise. Brandishing a long, metallic pipe from behind his back, he swung it far too quickly and erratically for Nines to even expect and anticipate. Unable to foresee and predict the attack ahead of time, Nines surrendered to the fatal blow. Vision turning red and hazy, warning signs flashed before his eyes, and his eyelids fluttered rapidly like little butterflies. He heard something akin to white noise, and it began spreading all over his system. 

Everything buzzed, rang, and tingled uncomfortably. His limbs each weighed a ton, and as Gary bashed him yet again over the back of the skull, his arms, legs, and knees locked up. Rigidly and stiffly, Nines crashed down flatly. 

Stubbornly, he refused to let go of the package, however. Fingers tightly were curled around it, and as he made contact with the pavement, he felt the box forcefully being pried out of his grip. 

All too soon, his world went black. 

*x*x*x*x*x*

“Luke, put that damn box down, for the last time!” 

“What? I’m just curious what the heck’s in here that’s so important to him!” 

“I don’t give a flying fuck-shit! Just put it down before he wakes up!”

Everything was still hissing, buzzing, and ringing. So loud...it was so loud inside his head, and he couldn’t get away from it. He already felt the ground shaking, and spinning, but it didn’t make him sick to his stomach as it would in humans.

The first thing he did as he blinked both his eyes was to run a self-diagnostic. Within a minute, he found to his relief that nothing had been seriously damaged. Suddenly, an overwhelming, potent feeling of impending and melanic dread knocked into him. Fully able to listen to and hear Captain Allen’s voice scolding Luke, Nines shifted his fingers, making sure they could still operate. Moving them proved to be a mission, and one that drew far too much attention. As he lay on his back and peered up into the sky, he saw and felt freezing rain pattering down over his forehead and into his eyes.

They could serve as tears, and it’d be one and the same, truly.

The bickering voices of his attackers grew louder and louder, and they were going through his personal package, now.

The box had been shaken back and forth as Luke snorted, “How do we even know this shit belongs to him? He could’ve punked it off of someone…”

“It says it’s addressed to him right there on the stamp, asshole!!!” Gary retorted moodily, causing the tension to increase.

Nines shifted a little, the snow around his body moving along with his motions as he hoped no one would tear the package open and steal the contents within the little box.

“Ah, Christ, Gary,” came Luke’s acrid bark that began his insult. “You’re an idiot if you think something valuable is in there!”

“Well, at least I can read the label, you illiterate mook!”

Nines decided he had to get up right then and there. He was wasting time lying flat on the snowy, cold ground. Pretending he was ‘dead’ or incapable of functioning wasn’t going to get him a ticket out of this ordeal, and he summoned the courage to face his opponents like a man.

Shoes scraped over towards him hurriedly, and a swift kick had been delivered to his chest. Reeling from the unexpectedly harsh blow, Nines rolled over a few times in the wet sludge and snow. Lifting his head carefully, he ducked away from another kick that Luke had aimed at his head.

“Stay the fuck down, you son of a bitch!!”

Roaring, Gary pointed down at Nines menacingly. “You fucking cost me my job, you hunk of plastic trash!!”

“SETTLE DOWN!!” Captain Allen’s potent cries made his lackeys silence themselves and calm down. It seemed as if the S.W.A.T. team leader had organized this entire thing, and as he sauntered over towards Nines, the android’s eyes swam over with regret and concern.

“Wh-where’s my—”

Lifting the box in both hands, Luke dangled the object before Nines like a tasty treat before a hungry animal. “Lookin’ for this, you cock sucker?!” He mimed throwing it as if it were a Frisbee for a dog, but he hadn’t chucked it at the wall like Nines worried he would.

Reaching up for the item, Nines hissed, “No! Don’t!!”

For some reason, this seemed to be quite hilarious for Luke and Gary. A few times, they pretended to toss the box back and forth and use it for playing catch with one another, but that all ceased and desisted when Captain Allen roared angrily at them and stomped a foot down.

Throwing his adjutors an authoritative glare, he screamed, “You monkeys! If you’re done fucking around, get your shit together, because I’m doing this for _you_ especially, Gary, and I could lose my damn job over this!!”

On the coldness of the ground, Nines tried to record this horrific interaction, but when he attempted to do so for the second time, he found he was unable to complete the task. Error signs and warning symbols flashed rapidly, and he groaned when he realized that the beating over the back of his skull had been more than a means to temporarily immobilizing him.

Bastards…

Eyeing him struggling down on the cold, hard ground, Captain Allen bent down before him and sneered. “Oh yes,” he chuckled sadistically, acidulous eyes promising murder and death. “I don’t think you’ll be getting away with much today, Nines…” As he leaned into the stunned android, he almost whispered faintly, “Today, you’re on _my_ damn time, and I’m going to show you that you fucked with the wrong people back in November.”

Trying to stand up proved to be a huge mistake on his part. Luke kicked him in the back several times, and Gary pinned him down by pressing a heavy, booted leg over his neck. Squirming, Nines clawed violently at Gary’s leg, and thankfully, he managed to yank a hunk of his meat and muscles in the process.

“FUCKER!!!” Throwing his head back and emitting a horrific scream that truly presented his pain, Gary leapt off Nines, and in an instant, the android found himself sliding around. Relying on his fast reflexes, Nines swirled around, and he raised a leg to swipe it through the air. Kicking Luke right in the shins, he managed to knock the man clean off his feet, and before he could come crashing down to smash himself down over the package, Nines’ hands shot out to grab it. Near perfectly, he snatched it in the palm of his hand, and he tucked it against his chest protectively. Then, he wrapped a free arm around Luke’s waist, and he elbowed him violently in the center of his chest. Coughing and sputtering, while Luke was momentarily stunned, Captain Allen and Gary both teamed up against Nines.

Captain Allen grabbed Nines by the back of his trench coat collar, and he yanked the tall, heavy android up to his feet. With all his might, Captain Allen heaved Nines over his shoulder, and he tossed him like he weighed about as much as a rag doll right into a dark green, rusted dumpster. Bags upon bags of garbage and filth toppled down right on top of Nines’ head the moment his body knocked into the dumpster. As the bags piled up over his head, Nines’ vision was cloudy, again, and he wasn’t prepared for Gary and Captain Allen both punching him repeatedly in the stomach and chest as if he happened to be their personal punching bag.

Again and again, they beat Nines as quickly and as roughly as they could. Within moments, their faces were red, and sweat had formed over their skin, yet they didn’t seem to want to let up anytime soon. While Captain Allen held him back with a firm grip on his shoulder, he cried out at Gary, “Fuck him up, Gary!!”

Roaring all sorts of profanities, Gary senselessly beat Nines while screaming from the top of his lungs. Through it all, Nines closed his eyes tightly shut, and he held onto the package for dear life. Though he didn’t feel any pain, his bio-sensors and bio-components were taking quite the damage. Everything internally was badly being battered, and if Gary didn’t stop, Nines estimated that he would enter a forced stasis mode necessary for self-repair. But if he ‘shut down’, then he would be rendered helpless, and completely vulnerable…he would stand no chance if reduced to that state, therefore leaving him open to complete annihilation by Gary and Captain Allen…

Needing to fight back, Nines stopped Gary midway in between another punch by kicking out his leg. Aiming it swiftly and perfectly for the man’s nose, Nines kneed him powerfully right in the nose. Kneecap met bone, and Gary’s nose let out a definitive ‘crack!’ His head snapped back, blood gushed forth from his nostrils, and his eyes rolled back into his head. Swaying, he eventually toppled down, and as he went sailing to the ground, Luke got back up and swung the metallic pipe. Swerving and dodging side to side as best as he could, Nines moved right on time before the pipe made contact with his body. Repeatedly, it slammed and broke through the dumpster, but Nines’ knew his luck was soon going to run out.

Captain Allen wrapped a hand around his throat strongly, and he effectively trapped Nines from doing much else aside from standing still while Luke brandished the pipe up high in the air.

“GUT HIM RIGHT THROUGH, LUKE!!! NOW!!” Eyes almost red like a demon’s, Captain Allen cried out his order, “DO IT, NOW!!!”

Something snapped within Luke, and he charged forth at Nines. The pipe was aimed directly for Nines’ thirium pump, and the android knew he was done for. Closing his eyes again, he held the package in a steady hand, and he braced himself for the end.

At least he’d tried putting up a good fight…at least he had that level of dignity for himself…

Suddenly, Luke’s screams were cut off far too quickly. Instead, the man let out a loud, pained grunt, and Nines heard the pipe smashing down to the ground. A fist connected with Luke’s jaw, and the man cried out one last time before his body thudded down by Nines’ feet.

Gasping, Captain released his grip over Nines, and he barely squawked out, “What the—aaahh!!!” Something hard and rough bashed into his face, and Nines was able to hear the blood splattering down before Captain Allen tumbled and sailed back into the heaps and mountains of garbage Nines had fallen into moments earlier.

Now that he was somewhat ‘freer’, Nines-almost too shyly-opened his eyes to greet his savior.

Immediately upon seeing who it was, a most foul look was in his eyes, growing stronger, deeper, and almost giving him a ghoulish aura. Snarling, he spat out acidly, “What the hell do _you_ want?”

*x*x*x*x*x*

“Christ…Nines, I fucked up…I missed you so much…”

Gavin Reed’s visage had changed, indeed. The blonde-colored tips of his hair were slightly fading away, but his bangs hung down around his temples and forehead, clearly having been fashioned that way on purpose. Wearing a long, modish black coat thicker than Nines’ wet, soggy trench coat, Gavin almost resembled a raven as he stood with his hands deeply shoved into his pockets. Dark, ripped jeans were tucked into ankle high biker boots, and Gavin suddenly looked exactly as Nines had when toying with his inclement ‘punk’ fashions and designs.

_He looks ravishing,_ Nines thought, but then scolded himself sternly for allowing such unseemly things to spin around in his mind. _You god damn moron. Stop thinking with your cock for five seconds and remember that he betrayed you!!_

Unimpressed by the blatant display of a mimetic Gavin, Nines nodded at him in ever the intemperate, agonized way. “Now who’s the fucking mimic?”

Wordlessly, Gavin fixed him with a stern gaze, while Nines gaped at his three attackers all knocked out cold on the ground. The rain bore down on them all, and as it poured down heavier, Gavin pulled up the hood of his coat. His knuckles flashed, suddenly, and as Nines zoned his vision on what caused the shiny glow, he gasped in fright.

Gavin had silver brass knuckles on…and blood coated over a few parts of the deadly weapons, no doubt Captain Allen’s, especially. His timing had been impeccable, and he’d arrived prepared for quite the hellish battle, no less. On any other day, Nines would’ve been proud and impressed, but now, as he fought to gather his dignity and shattered pride, he began resenting Gavin with every fiber of his being.

Undeterred in spite of the fact that he’d taken down a highly prominent member of the S.W.A.T. force, Gavin mumbled to himself, “Can’t say that fucker didn’t have it comin’.” Shrugging off the brass knuckles, he threw them down into his pockets before aiming a swift kick to the unconscious Gary’s backside.

While Nines continued to gape at Gavin in nothing short of awe, Gavin tilted his head at the package the RK900 was still holding onto ever so tightly. With a confident smirk, he purred, “Aww, that for me? Why, you shouldn’t have, Nines…”

Thirium leaked out of the corner of Nines’ lips, and he coughed some of it up when his system gave out to the brutality he’d still endured at the hands of Captain Allen, Luke, and Gary. While coughing and sputtering some more, he wheezed at Gavin spitefully, “Who asked _you_ to interfere?!” Flicking his hand down so the thirium could fall off his skin, he roared in addition, “I had everything under control!!” At this point, Nines felt too enervated to lash out further at Gavin, though he certainly felt abject rage on behalf of Gavin’s interruption. It was a rather odd feeling to have the tables turned back to before Christmas when he recalled saving Gavin in an almost similar way…

Extending his arms, Gavin gestured crudely at the ground. “No one ever found victory in the dirt, Nines.”

The abrasive android scowled ferociously at him before offering him his middle finger aimed high into the crispy air.

Beaming at him, Gavin scoffed while toying with the deadly brass knuckles. A few times, he fished them out of his dark coat pockets, tossing them into the air and playing his own little game of ‘catch’. Finally, when he grew bored of that, he offered plainly, “I think you may want to ask yourself how I even got here, n’est-ce pas, Nines?”

“Boy, you are insufferable.” Spitting out more thirium in wet clumps, Nines relented, “H-how did you know I was even here?”

Jerking his head curtly towards the passed out men they worked with, Gavin replied, “Well I was kinda watchin’ them, and only because Connor rang me up and told me that earlier this morning, he overheard Gary on the phone with Allen and Luke…” A crestfallen look was instantly upon his face as he sighed out his malacophonous conclusion, “They were talkin’ about putting an end to a certain ‘emo, plastic asshole’, and Connor figured they were referrin’ to you.”

Nines spat more wads of thirium out by his feet while he titubated around. “Not entirely wrong, I guess…” Once their eyes met, Nines felt the old, familiar feelings of anger, regret, and rejection burning within himself. Not wanting to show Gavin just how much this had affected and tormented him emotionally, he snarled, revealing his android blood-stained teeth in the process.

“So, what exactly were you hoping for here, Reed?” Trying to be cold and cruel, he hissed, “Did you come back here to win my favor? Hmm? Or maybe…” Stalking towards Gavin almost menacingly, his algid eyes flashed dangerously as he purred deeply, “…Maybe you wanted one last fuck, huh? You gotta admit, I dicked you down pretty well, didn’t I?”

A painful looked quickly etched its way over Gavin’s face, and the moment Nines agnized it there clear as day, he felt absolutely ashamed of himself. The abashed android hung his head down, and he suddenly wanted nothing else other than for the ground to open up and suck him deeply into the center of the earth where he would never be able to crawl up and escape again. As vile as his rage was, Gavin didn’t deserve that, and he wished he’d been more careful with his words.

Gavin simply shook his head. “Nines, you really disappoint me.”

The cruel visage was back on his face instantly. “Right back at you, man.”

Trembling from the cold, Gavin wrapped his arms around himself and looked skyward. “I was an idiot, I have no issue admitting that,” he began in his speech. Slowly glancing down at Nines, he expounded, “I didn’t know any better, Nines. That was the _first_ time I had sex with a guy; _you_ were my first.”

“Oh?” Nines tilted his head in his trademark sarcastic manner. “As if I didn’t know _why_ when we fucked for the first time it felt tighter than sticking my dick in a mousehole.”

“There was no need for you to say that,” his partner began in a gentle tone, “but I can kind of understand why you would resort to that shit, Nines.”

His obstinate nature refused to just let it go, and it only contributed to cacotopia. Thinking that the puppy-dog look Gavin was throwing his way had been nothing more than a ruse or a stupid chicanery of some sort, his sour mood and assertions had once again revisited him. Glaring steadily at Gavin, Nines spat cruelly, “Have no fear, it was my first time, as well.”

It seemed as though he’d simultaneously electrocuted Gavin, as well as immersed him in a pool of ice water. The human wheezed at him, nearly toppling back while clutching at his chest. Stunned, he rasped brokenly, “You mean you haven’t been with anyone else since me?”

Eyes rolling to the sky, Nines sighed in blatant exhaustion. “No, Reed. I told you, I didn’t ever want or need anyone else.”

Taking many minutes to ponder this, Gavin finally muttered with discourtesy, “Shit…I was your first…that…th-that’s weird considerin’ how you knew how to…” Blushing deeply, he finished awkwardly, “…You know!!”

He did.

Scoffing while shaking his head, Nines ground out, “Well, shit, Reed, I’m glad _one of us_ knew what to do in that department, because you’re not that talented by yourself, I’ll say.”

Jaw and chin quivering, Gavin began his provocation of a protest. “You son of a slimy—”

“Tsk tsk,” Nines chided him while shrugging in a detached way. “You were so lazy in the bedroom, Reed; thought I was gonna fall asleep half the time thanks to your lousy technique.”

More blatant, ruinous lies, and Gavin apparently caught onto it ahead of time. Pointing in accusatory manner at Nines, he spat with venom, “You’re one to talk!!”

Coyly, an unaffected Nines drawled, “Making excuses?” Shaking his head, unimpressed as ever, he icily spat, “Figures. Needless to say, Reed, my right hand offers far greater services.”

As if seeing straight past his aberrant lie, Gavin childishly retorted, “No offense, but since pickings are rather slim these days, when Connor was extra nice to me, I _was_ tempted to take him up on his help, you know.”

Dead silence stretched out between them. Nines felt something within his chest expanding drastically before what could’ve closely been described as a burning sensation seared through his system. It truly felt as though someone had been tearing him open from the inside, splitting him and severing him perfectly in two.

His right eyelid twitched unbeknownst to himself as he hissed painfully and woefully under his breath. “Connor…he…fucking hell! Before or after I left??” Possessiveness and jealousy clouded his vision. If Connor _really_ had tried to even flirt with Gavin, friend or not, colleague or not, Nines was going to tear him limb from fucking limb.

Before he exploded in blind rage, Gavin rolled his eyes. Rubbing his forehead with the palm of his left hand, he replied blandly, “I was kidding, dipshit. So glad to know you’re still as gullible as ever.”

Seething due to the fact that Gavin had tricked him, Nines spat minaciously, “You don’t even know your ass from a hole in the ground, Reed, and don’t you ever—”

“I’m sorry.”

When one was so livid and so taken by rage and ludibry, there was of course a lack of attention and care given to the other side of the argument. As such, Nines-in his currently bemused state-had nearly missed the two words. They were the words he’d wanted to hear the most, and he could only freeze into place while his scornful expression became mollescent. Fingers loosening their hold on the box, Nines dropped it as his eyes zoned out on their own accord.

With a tiny sigh, Gavin bent down, picked up the package, and he handed it back to Nines. The android couldn’t even bring himself to move, but when he felt Gavin’s fingers plucking at his wristbands, he finally gazed down.

Sweetly smiling, Gavin whispered, “You’re actually wearing what I got you for Christmas?” Unable to believe it, the detective’s eyes swam over the dragon pendant as well, and he chuckled warmly while taking a step back. His warm fingers trailed slowly and almost reluctantly off of Nines’ wrist, and he grinned to himself a most goofy grin. The onslaught and rush of a methysis of lust was overpowering enough to send him reeling.

Nines thought it was absolutely adorable and radiant, but he had no idea how to voice this aloud to Gavin. Would he sound desperate and foolish?

Nervously scratching the back of his head, Gavin explained, “Look, I wasn’t also just randomly swinging around the neighborhood lookin’ to help you; my mom actually wishes to see you.”

Upon hearing this, Nines finally abandoned his other ideas and thoughts, and he offered the short detective a serious look. “How’s your mother doing?”

A sad look marred Gavin’s face. “She’s getting worse.”

Not wanting to break down right in front of Gavin, Nines muttered brokenly, “It’s…it’s been a while, Reed…is she in hospital?”

The question was already answered in the silence Gavin offered him. Almost a full month and a half had whisked by since the last time Nines had last seen Carrie Moser, and it didn’t take a genius to understand that her condition had worsened and deteriorated.

However, whatever the facts were, both Gavin and Nines put up a wall quickly. The planetic pain was far too great, and far too much.

Nudging Nines gently, Gavin placed a hand gently and soothingly over Nines’ left cheek. Eyes fluttering closed immediately, Nines pocketed the tiny box, and he draped his hand over Gavin’s. He could feel Gavin’s pulse beating and thrumming through his arm, and Nines wished so much to feel more of it. Gradually leaning closer and further into the shorter male, Nines realized just how much time they’d lost, and how much trust they’d gained at the same time. Through this singular experience, it seemed as if they were truly two lost friends with similar souls stretching and expanding through time, eager and so desperate to be together. They would only know happiness, joy, comfort, and tranquility with they were in each other’s presence, and this moment had finally arrived…

…There _was_ forgiveness, after all. Nines felt it, and he forgave Gavin just as the other man had forgiven him by opening up this much without even having to be asked. Nines relied on it the moment he stared deeply into Gavin’s eyes and was met with equal amounts of adoration, respect, and dignity he so longed for.

Impatience bled over, causing Nines to instinctively swoop and dive into Gavin to try and capture his lips. Not too slowly, Gavin leaned back, and Nines growled in confusion.

“Reed, you—”

A small chuckle escaped from Gavin, and he softly drawled, “Have a shower, first, Nines.” He held onto his partner’s hand, fingers stroking Nines’ knuckles so tenderly that it nearly shattered Nines’ last will and self-control.

“Come back home with me,” the detective suggested. “Have a shower, and _together_, we will go see my mom.”

Stroking the package gingerly in his pocket, Nines suddenly knew what he had to do, but he felt he would only be able to carry it out at the most opportune moment. How he hoped that moment would hurry up and present itself…

Softly, Gavin urged, “Nines?”

Nines waved him off, but before he could advance, Gavin’s arm shot out and prevented the tall android from moving. Staring down at the detective’s hand, so much smaller than his own, Nines demanded an explanation for such a bold move by lifting an eyebrow in Gavin’s direction.

The human’s breath came out in a small steam cloud. “Before we go,” he began in a dramatic, fervid flair, “I want you to punch me, Nines.”

Standing back, Nines scoffed, eyes running along Gavin’s face intently.

Before he could say a word, Gavin added, “But make it quick, and make it good; you only get to do this _once_…” Eyes shining impishly, he purred, “Consider it down payment in the future for my foreseeable fuck ups.”

Nines didn’t know why he smiled, nor did he know why he found this all beyond charming.

Perhaps the redness and swollen area of Gavin’s left cheek would ring in an answer at a later date.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Our bois are united again.


	70. Path of Honor

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter may require a tissue.

Nines wasn’t entirely sure whether he’d forgiven Gavin or not. As promised, when they reached the apartment, Nines cleansed himself, and he felt much better just by ridding his body of the putrid stench the garbage bags had left on him earlier. His thoughts were completely scrambled when it came to Gavin Reed, but as he stepped out of the steamy bathroom and rejoined Gavin in the living room, he couldn’t help but feel a sense of want and pure desire echoing through himself.

It hadn’t bloomed out of nowhere; Gavin was being extra kind to him, and as he handed Nines a fresh set of clothes to change into, the RK900 placed his necklace and bracelets back onto his wrists and neck.

Tapping the items gingerly, Gavin pointed out, “You’re wearing them again...”

Nines carefully drew himself towards the source of heat seeping out of the short human. “I am.”

With utter fascination, Gavin focused his eyes on the necklace. “Is this on purpose?”

Hearing the near-seductive growl in Gavin’s tenor voice sent Nines almost swooning. “Maybe this time, yes.” Doing what he’d thought and felt to be the most natural thing, Nines gripped the back of Gavin’s head, and he forcefully tried tugging their lips to a touching point. He wanted to ravage Gavin senselessly in every filthy, venerous way…

...But there was resistance. 

Gavin gently shoved him away, and Nines saw nothing but red. Growling in resentment and contempt, he released Gavin, and he turned around. “Get out.”

Quick to refuse, Gavin snorted in an absonant manner. “Don’t be silly, Nines.”

Aiming his heated words at the kitchen entryway, Nines adamantly protested, “As I understood it, in the past, you’d allow many women to mount you, and yet my flesh is reviled?” Before there could be time and opportunity for Gavin to rebuke that, Nines expounded emotionally, “Can’t you give me a damn break here, Reed? I’m seriously trying to get over you so we can both move on, and you’re making me feel worse about it!”

“I don’t want to move on.” 

The words slammed into Nines like a wrecking ball, and he very carefully raised his head to peek back over at Gavin. 

Blinking once, he whispered, “You...don’t—”

Eyelashes fluttering, Gavin’s tongue darted out to wet his lips, “I need you to come back and be with me, Nines, and it’s because my mom actually believed that we were together, and she wants us to be happy.” 

His thirium pump felt like it was going to explode, and in the worst possible way, for that matter. This wasn’t Gavin approaching him with his own passionate, ardent confession; he still wanted something...as usual, he only came to Nines when he was in dire need…

It would never change.

Appalled by the revelation, Nines rasped, “You..._everything_ we had...it was _all _about your mother...”

Gavin appeared to be contemplating this for a moment, and he then proclaimed, “I know that you got me a ring, Nines.” Holding up both hands, he was quick to add in, “I didn’t peek at it, but I just assumed because of the size and the weight of the box.”

Nines still didn’t have words for the man he was facing. He could only gape at him in a blend of raw emotions. 

With quite the exhausted sigh, Gavin massaged his temples as he said, “Let’s just finish this, Nines. My mom’s not well, and she’s contacted my dad’s lawyer. He’s on the way right now from Washington, Seattle.” Lowering his hands, Gavin expounded weakly, “My mom just doesn’t want to see us fighting, and even I don’t think you’re _that_ stone cold to deny an old woman her last sense of happiness...”

Unable to turn away, no matter how much he wanted to, Nines nearly broke apart when Gavin choked out, “Please.” The way he’d breathed the desperate word was enough to make Nines sick. Torn between wanting beat Gavin to a damn pulp, destroying himself, setting his own apartment on fire, and leaping out into oncoming traffic, Nines simply stood frozen until he heard Gavin repeating his plea for help. 

“Please.”

His conscience suddenly spoke out to him, then. 

_You promised him, but you’re shutting him out, now? _

….

_I never promised to fall in love with him and grow to care about him... _

….

Yet, he had. It’d just happened. Assuredly, even though Nines fought against all the odds, he knew for certain that he didn’t hate Gavin. He never would.

Without anything left to lose, Nines folded his long arms over his chest, immediately resorting to closing himself off to Gavin. “Detective Reed,” he began sternly, like a parent addressing the behavior of their naughty, recalcitrant child. “You’ve been a senselessly unkind and inauspicious man since the day we met.” Their eyes found each other, but Gavin soon lost the battle of maintaining eye contact. Perhaps out of shame, he trained his plangorous gaze at his feet, cheeks turning red. 

“You’ve taken so impetuously and selfishly from myself, as well as from others, and I have every right in the world to despise you.” 

Seeing Gavin’s body clench up, Nines shut his eyes and shared every bit of turmoil rolling off the emotional detective. Breath hitching in his throat, Nines finished, “I should hate you, but I never could, and I don’t think I can, even if you asked me to.”

There was hope glimmering forth from Gavin’s eyes. “Then you’ll—”

Cutting in, Nines turned to the side as he uncomfortably pushed out, “I’ll marry you, Reed, just as I promised back in October.” Holding up his index finger, he hissed, “I’ll go through with it in front of the lawyer and your mother as our witnesses, but this is the _last_ damn time I’m saving your ass. Are we clear?”

There was something lingering in the center of Gavin’s eyes, but Nines didn’t want to analyze it and open himself to whatever it could’ve been. Instead, he roared, “ARE WE CLEAR?!”

Raising his head, Gavin fought back tears, and Nines turned away from the sight of it. To look would only entail his own breakdown. 

He wasn’t able to get Gavin to indicate that he’d understood him clearly. 

*x*x*x*x*x*

Nines really hated hospitals, and Saint Joseph Mercy wasn’t an exception. The melancholic hospital supposedly was well renowned for upholding excellence in cancer care, but in the dour, taciturn android’s opinion, this was far from true. The hospital was one of the gloomiest Nines had ever been in. The lights were a yellow-orange tinge, and the plants were all artificial, stained, and the decorations on the walls were absolutely horrendous. The abysmal, dank, dingey building seemed to be like something taken right out of a haunted house novel or movie; walls were chipped, needed to be re-painted, the paintings and pictures hanging on the walls were dark, gloomy, and set off the wrong, procellous tone.

TVs and radios were playing old, soft classical music, but the volume had been set too low. As a result, coughing, sobbing, arguing, nagging, screaming, the sounds of both patients and visitors engaging in other highly emotional things could’ve been heard. It was far too much to handle when Nines was already on edge to see Carrie. 

She was on the seventh floor of the hospital, and as Nines and Gavin rode the elevator all the way there to the top, the potent feelings of dread and anxiety grew exponentially within both men. Gavin showed it more than Nines, and he did so by chewing on his fingernails and sucking on his thumb...he’d reduced himself to his infancy years, no doubt a coping mechanism. 

Not wanting to touch the other man, Nines held the elevator doors open for Gavin. Where his words failed to soothe and comfort the short male, his eyes beamed forth every apology, every wish, desire, and promise that no doubt was far too offensive and inappropriate given the current situation. 

Allowing Gavin to lead him right up to Carrie’s room, Nines braced himself already, but no amount of preparation could’ve helped and been enough. He learned this far too quickly. 

The entire room was bright, but it smelled heavily of soap, disinfectant, cleaning products, and of bleach. It made Gavin sniffle with his sensitive nose, and he hurried over towards the center of the room. Curtains hung over and around the bed Carrie was lying on, and she was hooked up to an IV, which Nines had already determined contained morphine...

...To numb her from the pain...

Carrie was completely pale and bald like when Nines and Gavin had discovered when she removed her wig. She was as white as the walls and ceiling. On a small table next to her bed rested a vase filled with exotic, bright flowers. Cards sat propped all around the vase as well, ever so much in a lovely assortment. Most of them provided the words ‘get well soon’, and others contained all sorts of warm wishes from Carrie’s students and colleagues, no doubt. 

While Gavin studied the cards, Nines pulled forward two chairs. “Reed,” he whispered, and Carrie’s sunken-in eyes opened to regard him. Taken aback by how lifeless and dull her eyes seemed, Nines nearly collapsed into his chair. He had no idea how he’d even summoned the energy to help Gavin sit down, but he must have some time ago when he sensed Gavin’s body heat next to himself.

Frightened, Gavin stared at his mother briefly before slurring his words. “Mom...it’s us...” Holding back on revealing far too much, he choked out, “...Nines is h-here...”

Carrie didn’t even have the stamina to blink. Her glassy eyes stared Nines down, but her fingers twitched. Taking her time, she somehow managed to whisper, “Gavin...d-did you—”

Shaking his head, her son said, “Don’t talk, mom. Nines and I are fine.”

Nines stroked the box containing the engagement ring he’d picked out for Gavin. It wasn’t ever supposed to be like this...

He’d been planning the proposal the day Gavin had brought him to the family cottage. It was the ultimate step for Nines, and while he hadn’t been expecting to sleep with Gavin, when it’d happened, it made the thoughtful android even more certain of his decision. 

Only, it’d soon all crumbled and had fallen apart...

“Nines?”

He was shaken out of his memories by Gavin’s voice, followed by the man tapping on the back of his hand. Their eyes met, and Gavin urged, “My mom wants to hold your hand.”

Pushing his hand forward, Nines draped his large limb over Carrie’s small, bone-thin, deathly pale one. Feeling her veins immediately, he saw Gavin guiding his mother’s arm closer. 

“Nines, you can also talk to her.”

Awkwardly, Nines croaked, “Wh-what should I say?”

“Anything you want.”

This was far too broad, but for some reason, the moment Nines’ hand lay over Carrie’s, the words almost naturally came without any effort. Staring at the thin woman now but a mere shell of her former self, Nines nearly broke apart at the seams. The only thing he could offer Carrie Moser was a gentle, sincere, “I’m so sorry, Carrie…I really a-am.”

Would it suffice??

No…he knew it wouldn’t, no matter how much remorse and empathy he exuded. There was no way on earth Nines could make up for all the pain, torment, suffering, and illness in the world that had inflicted not only this family, but any other family, for that matter. Shaking, he frowned down at their joined hands, and he discovered that it wasn’t Carrie who was trembling; it was himself.

Trying to get a hold of his own quivering, Nines painfully pressed on. “I’m s-sorry for all the painful, terrible bullshit before, Carrie, but I w-want you to know that I’m _not_ sorry for meeting you and your son, and I will _never_ be sorry for that.”

His words seemed to take an effect on the ill woman. Her eyes hadn’t been as dull and dark now as they once were, and she made her fingers tighten around his, perhaps in validation and confirmation. Nines’ head shot up, and he gaped at her. Carrie’s lips twitched, and she huskily groaned, “You…love…Gavin…”

….

He…he couldn’t say it aloud…a wall went up, and Nines immediately backed down from the courage he should have had.

He was a true coward, and he deserved every bit of psychalgia, interminably.

All he did was offer her a tiny, haphazard nod. “I want to be with your son,” he expounded while staring at Gavin quickly. “I want you to see us wed, and I want your permission to forever cherish your son, please.”

Covering his face and expressions with a hand, Gavin didn’t present his mortification, but it wasn’t a requirement. Nines was highly focusing on Carrie, and as he held her hand in his own, the woman’s head tilted weakly to the side. Her eyes followed, next, and she took a quick, absolutory look at her own son.

“Gav—”

“Mom, please,” his voice came out muffled, but apparently, Carrie was able to hear him just the same.

Squinting and blinking back her tears, she withdrew her hand from Nines, and she whispered hoarsely, “Marry…yes…I—”

At once, the door banged open, and the light green hospital curtains were pushed aside. Frightened, Gavin nearly fell off his chair, while Nines moved away from Carrie’s side.

“Who the fuck—”

A man with thick, round glasses and an expensive business suit suddenly was before them. He had thinning light brown hair, tanned skin, was clean shaven, and slightly shorter than Gavin. His thick, dark brown eyebrows and brown-grey eyes searched over Nines, and then at Gavin. Holding out his hand, he cleared his throat as he introduced himself. “Sorry to barge in like this. I’m Jeremy Hamilton; I was your father’s lawyer.” He was quite malacophonous in his speech and presentation, but Nines especially wasn’t a fool to be so trusting.

If Gavin hadn’t held him back, Nines would’ve definitely landed a punch directly into the pudgy man’s stomach, and he wouldn’t have a single regret doing so. In fact, it seemed nauseant enough to be in the man’s presence, so much that Nines wished he could lash out violently.

Carrie seemed to suddenly grow agitated. Her heart rate monitor shown on the electrocardiogram shot up, and as she wheezed while her eyes grew round and large, Gavin gasped in fear.

“You’re gonna hurt my mom!!” he roared at the heavy-set lawyer. “Get the hell outta here!!”

Lowering his head submissively, the lawyer sadly stated, “I can’t do that, Gavin; your mother’s called me here today, and like it or not, we’re _going_ over your father’s last will and testament, and the assets he’s left behind for you.”

Snarling, Nines snapped, “Yeah, you don’t need to remind him!”

Rolling his malefic eyes towards the darkly clad cantankerous android, he asked, “And just _who _are you?”

Chin jutting out angrily, Nines hissed, “I’m—” Abruptly cut off when Gavin got in his way between his body and the lawyer’s, Nines’ eyes fell on the back of his ornery partner’s head as Gavin stood almost proudly before him.

Puffing out his body and chest, Gavin announced, “He’s my partner, and my fiancé. Now,” shifting his weight closer towards the lawyer, he asked, “do you have a problem with that?”

Remaining ever so calm, the lawyer replied, “No, but I really think we need to have a chat, Gavin.” Motioning out the door, he suggested, “Shall we?”

*x*x*x*x*x*

Jeremy, Nines, and Gavin all sat down in the cafeteria of the hospital. Hardly anyone was about at this hour of the night, thankfully. It provided the carnaptious trio a semblance of peace and quiet, and the only noises around came from appliances such as vending machines, water fountains, fridges, as well as the heating system. Not a single soul was in sight, save for the odd custodian, Roomba, security guard, as well as a few patients and doctors wandering about the halls, only to disappear as quickly as they appeared.

The tables had recently been wiped down, and as the three men sat down, a thick, heavy level of discomfort pushed through back and forth between them all. Jeremy opened up the briefcase he’d brought along with himself, and from it, he yanked out a thin, silver laptop over on the surface of the shiny, plastic table. With Nines and Gavin watching, he started up the laptop, and he set his glasses up higher on his nose.

Chewing his lower lip as if it were a piece of gum or candy, Gavin whispered, “I’m gonna need a cup of coffee.”

Without even being asked or told, Nines hurriedly got up to purchase one from the small coffee shop still operating at this hour of the night. Gavin sipped it carefully, and he seemed lost in his thoughts as the lawyer typed on his laptop for a few moments.

Eyes scanning the screen, Jeremy mumbled, “Just firing up some documents, Gavin...” Clicking his tongue against his teeth, he hissed, “I’m sure you’re already familiar with what your father left behind and what the terms and conditions are of this last will and testament.” 

Gavin shrugged, and he stared on at Jeremy in sheer bewilderment. “Amazing.”

With an undignified snort, Gavin snapped, “My mom’s practically on her death bed, and all you’re thinking of is money...”

Even Nines was disgusted, though he chose to hold back on his commentary. 

Emitting a strained sigh, Jeremy propped a chubby hand beneath his chin and glared at Gavin with fire and ice blooming in his eyes. “Look, I’m sorry about what you’re going through. I can’t even begin to imagine how difficult and painful this is.”

Sarcastically, Gavin retorted, “Aww, poor baby!” 

Ignoring the snide remark, Jeremy stated, “Look, I just want to help you here, and believe it or not, Gavin, I’m aware of what’s been going on in your life for years, now.”

Calling him out on what he assumed was a volitient bluff, Gavin retorted, “Oh yeah? And what’s been going on, then?” Quick to insult, he added in with fire, “You know, since you’re such a smartass about everythin’.”

“Well,” Jeremy began as he sat back and leaned his hand on his chin, “I know that you recently were evicted from your apartment, I know that you’re currently living with your android partner, here...” Continuing in spite of the ferocious glance Gavin had awarded him with, Jeremy drawled, “...I know that you’re not really happy talking to your mother, I know that you resent your father still to this day, I know that you hate me, and I know that I don’t blame you for it.”

Nodding slowly, Gavin mildly chuckled. “Impressive! The human has brain cells!” 

Taking his glasses right off and folding them back into their case, Jeremy sighed weakly. “Gavin, cut the crap. I know you’re hurting, and I know you have every right to be angry, but I was your father’s best friend from law school who’s known you since you were running around in diapers; I at least deserve an _iota_ of respect.”

“And why should I respect you?!”

Knowing the battle was useless to fight, Jeremy chose to talk to Nines, instead. “Fuck it,” he mumbled under his breath while resorting to glowering at the RK900. “Are you his fiancé?” 

Nines scowled back. “I am, yes.”

Nodding, Jeremy then asked, “When are you two getting married?”

Eyes cold and grandiloquent, Gavin answered, “Tonight...now.” He tossed Nines a cutting, rude look, “It’s what my mom wants, and the doctors have said she doesn’t have a lot of t-time left.”

Pausing briefly, Jeremy finally whispered, “I see...and I take it that I’m to be a witness to this union?”

Leaning into the table for the purposes of making his point hit home, Nines hissed, “If you wouldn’t mind, that is.” The way he’d spoken it out left Jeremy with no other option to refuse, but that had been the intended purpose all along. 

“I don’t,” Jeremy swiftly replied. “As long as there is some kind of a ceremony, then that’s a condition of the process met.”

Standing up, then, Gavin looked to the ceiling. “I’ll go get the priest from the chapel.”

As he walked away all too quickly, Nines took some time before asking, “_A condition_? I thought there was only one that needed to be met?”

Smiling almost coldly in response, Jeremy stretched an arm over the table. “Are you aware that Felix Reed lived a rather painful life?”

Rolling his eyes, Nines dramatically stated, “Yes.”

To abandon a wife and child? One would have to be a damn monster not to feel any pain whatsoever. 

Not ceasing with his questions, Jeremy pushed on. “Do you know what Felix Reed died of?”

Nines snickered rudely, feeling as though only a vacuous person would ask such a question. Still, he decided to humor the lawyer. “Of old age.”

Shaking his head, the voluble lawyer replied testily, “Felix was a very, very depressed man.”

Nines then blinked, taken aback with this news. “...I...I don’t buy that for one second.” After all, how could that be? Felix Reed had gotten everything he’d wanted in his life! The man had been a selfish monster for cheating, manipulating Gavin, and chasing after money and glory!

As if reading his confused, jumbled thoughts like an open book, Jeremy whispered, “Oh yes, I know it’s an impossible thing to comprehend. I mean, the guy was just a piece of shit through and through, right?”

Not sensing anything in the way of a manipulation tactic thrown his way, Nines urged, “Talk to me.” Truly, the android genuinely and sincerely wanted to learn more.

The next few minutes were both riveting, and quite life-changing for Nines. All his set expectations had yet again been tested, broken, and thoroughly shattered. There weren’t any semblances of a tautology, presently. Once more, a human being had taken him by surprise with a presentation of unpredictability. Dazed, Nines could only listen, finding himself increasingly fascination by the second.

Toying with the glasses case, Jeremy spoke out gently, “Felix wasn’t the greatest example of what a father and a husband should be, and I won’t waste your time convincing you and lying to you that he was.”

Biting his tongue, Nines remained in control, trying not to leap at Jeremy given what Gavin had admitted to him weeks earlier. He needed to learn anything and everything he could and attacking his one and only informant would be an utterly clumsy, foolish move he would regret permanently. 

Jeremy brushed some dust and dirt off his dress pants. “While Felix did a lot of messed-up shit, he really loved Gavin.” The plastic chair groaned slightly as he shifted. “Felix wasn’t happy for one minute of his entire damn life, and he foolishly thought that if he changed the scene, the people, the money...well...” Slapping a hand down on his thigh, he sighed on, “...Felix learned later that you can’t change the fucking situation, in the end.”

The chill of the words could’ve been felt even by Gavin. As Nines watched his partner return with the priest in tow, he only then remembered his previous question Jeremy hadn’t answered, yet.

It wasn’t the right time, otherwise, he would’ve demanded the answer he felt Gavin-above everyone else-was owed.

Never had Nines expected to have a ‘shot gun wedding’. In his entire existence, he’d gone through his fair share of odd crap, dramatic crap, and surprising crap. However, the idea of an abrupt wedding never had occurred to him. Weddings...he truthfully hadn’t ever anticipated that he’d be getting married. He’d just assumed that for the rest of his existence, he’d live out his days alone and without a ‘mate’ or partner. He was once content with a lifetime of solitude...once upon a time when pain and loneliness held no negative associations and definitions. Times had changed; Nines had changed. Now, he was feeling a powerful wave of strange and new emotions as he stood stiffly by the left-hand side of Carrie’s bed. 

Gavin was standing right in front of him then, and the priest stood to Nines’ right. Holding a small book as he gave a small introductory speech of sorts, Carrie-now wide awake and hanging onto whatever energy she had-seemed absolutely livelier than when Nines had first walked into the room. Her cheeks were still quite pale and sickly looking, however, there was a small glimmer of hope and light beaming in her eyes. A nasal cannula now inserted through her nostrils was supplying her plenty of oxygen and helping her breathe, but she didn’t seem to mind it. Pillows were propped behind her back plentifully, and she sat forward eagerly watching the union. 

All smiles and genuinely excited and happy for her son, she leaned forward as much as she could, and since Nines and Gavin were close to her, she made direct contact. Her hand came down over the back of Gavin’s, and she guided her son’s hand towards Nines’. 

Staring at her in awe, Gavin nearly forgot about Nines and the priest. His mother encouraged his joy and happiness by offering him a sincere smile that was rather heart-warming even to Nines. If he had to guess, this could have quite possibly been the happiest day of Carrie’s life in a long, long time. 

Hanging his head down to read the words, even the priest was smiling in pride and joy. “We gather here to unite these two people in marriage. Their decision to marry has not been entered into lightly and today they publicly declare their private devotion to each other. The essence of this commitment is the acceptance of each other in entirety, as lover, companion, and friend.”

As he spoke, Carrie trembled a little, but it was only because she was weeping tears of joy and happiness. She whispered breathlessly to Gavin that she was very proud of him, that she was so happy for them, and that this was the best thing to happen for them. She said nothing cheered her up and warmed up her heart more than giving her son and trusting him in the hands of such a wonderful, supportive partner. Nines was equally as baffled as Gavin upon hearing this. He’d always assumed that Carrie Moser hated him more than anything else in the world, but looking at how enamored, involved, and brightly her entire face and body beamed during the opening of the ‘ceremony’, Nines knew that for probably the tenth time now, he’d been proven wrong by humans.

Maybe it was time to get used to it becoming a happenstance and a regular thing...

Turning back to Gavin, then, he saw how the shorter male was trying to keep an eye on his mother, as if not completely sure whether she really approved this bond or not. When Carrie reached forth and wrapped one of her hands around Gavin’s, and then the other around Nines’, both men were completely bewildered and confused by what it was she wanted to do. 

Words flowing like a warm summer breeze, the priest continued, “A good and balanced relationship is one in which neither person is overpowered nor absorbed by the other, one in which neither person is possessive of the other, one in which both give their love freely and without jealousy.”

Carrie brought Gavin’s and Nines’ hand, together, and she made it so that their fingers intertwined and wove around each other. Clasping her own hand over the top of theirs once joined, she closed her eyes and tears poured down her cheeks. 

“Marriage, ideally, is a sharing of responsibilities, hopes, and dreams. It takes a special effort to grow together, survive hard times, and be loving and unselfish.” With that said, the priest eyed Nines first, and then Gavin. “I now ask of you to look deeply into each other’s eyes and bear witness...”

Across the other side of the room on the right side of Carrie’s bed, Jeremy Hamilton stood vigilant, though he seemed worried, fearful, and doubtful. Keeping up his part of the bargain, he stood and remained as a witness, however silently. 

Bashfully, Gavin met Nines’ gaze, and the longer he stared, the redder in the face he grew. Carrie seemed to be whispering something while she remained and kept her position, but a smile painted her face the entire time. To Nines, her hand was even warmer than he’d anticipated.

Stepping closer to them, the priest asked, “Do you both pledge to share your lives openly with one another, and to speak the truth in love?”

Both Nines and Gavin bowed their heads in obeisance. “Yes, we do.”

“Do you promise to honor and tenderly care for one another, cherish and encourage each other, stand together, through sorrows and joys, hardships and triumphs for all the days of your lives?”

“We do.”

“And do you pledge to share your love and the joys of your marriage with all those around you, so that they may learn from your love and be encouraged to grow in their own lives?”

Nines answered first, “I do.”

Gavin followed next, “I do.”

Gesturing at the small box sitting on the edge of Carrie’s bed, the priest then held it up, and he handed it to Nines. “May these rings be blessed as a symbol of your union. As often as either of you look upon these rings, may you not only be reminded of this moment, but also of the vows you have made and the strength of your commitment to each other.”

Slightly embarrassed that Gavin hadn’t provided him with a ring, Nines tried looking beyond that. This was an absolutely rushed decision, after all, and he knew he could only demand so much from Gavin at once. Carefully, he selected the small silver and black diamond ring, and he flashed it before Gavin’s eyes. They widened in shock, but Gavin didn’t move as Nines placed the ring onto his ring finger when Carrie pulled her hand away. 

With a nod, the priest stated, “Nines, please repeat after me...I Nines, promise to love and support you, Gavin, and live each day with kindness, understanding, truth, humor, and passion. With this ring I thee wed.”

Making sure to take and hold Gavin’s hand, Nines repeated the vow while gifting and blessing Gavin with the ring. As deeply as he searched through Gavin’s eyes, he felt that while he was trying to hold back on a lot, it just wasn’t possible. 

“I Nines, promise to love and support you, Gavin, and live each day with kindness, understanding, truth, humor, and passion. With this ring I thee wed.” The ring slid far too perfectly on Gavin’s finger, and the detective, emitted a strained cry upon seeing the ring there.

Carrie opened her eyes, and when she stared at the ring, too, she smiled. The tip of her nose had turned pink, but she sniffled as quietly as she could. Jeremy handed her a soft, white tissue, and she held onto it while gently dabbing at her eyes. 

Even though Gavin did not have a ring of his own to bless Nines with, the priest acted as though it was there. Nodding at Gavin, he encouraged him to repeat the exact same vows Nines just had, and Gavin followed through with it.

With a tad bit of reluctance and refusal in his tone, he muttered, “I Gavin promise to love and support you, Nines, and live each day with kindness, understanding, truth, humor, and passion. With this ring I thee wed.”

Almost apologetically, Gavin massaged and rubbed Nines’ ring finger. He seemed embarrassed that he wasn’t able to bestow upon Nines’ finger an equally wonderful ring as the one that was currently dazzling and shining on his own finger. Nines found himself mirroring Gavin’s caresses, and it came far too naturally to him. He really didn’t mind that he didn’t have a ring, and he maintained eye contact with Gavin until Carrie placed her hand over their joined ones once more.

Blessing them, now, the priest sang out, “Go now in peace and live in love, sharing the most precious gifts you have-the gifts of your lives united. And may your days be long on this earth. I now pronounce you partners. You may kiss your spouse.”

Simultaneously, their heads both turned towards Carrie and Jeremy. While the lawyer was red in the face, Carrie looked like an angel. She smiled even wider than ever, and she almost had diamonds twinkling merrily in her eyes. 

Bowing her head, she cried out in joy, “Be happy, be loved.” The melodic embellishment and ornamentation of her true feelings were seeping out like a powerful river flowing through a fruitful valley. It too couldn’t and refused to be contained…

Not needing anymore encouragement, Nines dipped his head, and he took two quick steps towards Gavin to close whatever distance and space they had between each other. His lips found Gavin’s, and they shared a very mild, chaste, and soft kiss that ended far too quickly for the android’s tastes. 

But that didn’t matter; Carrie and Gavin did. 


	71. Inner Workings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is by far one of the more depressing ones.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The shirt Nines was wearing: https://www.the-black-angel.com/gothic-clothing-men/1488-axl-shirt-straps-by-banned-clothing.html

Gavin and Nines remained in the hospital taking care of Carrie for the next three days. Due to their minds being so occupied and wrapped up in the somber task, time flew by quickly. Though they longed to escape the drab and desolate scene, surprisingly, Nines found that when taking care of Carrie, he bonded the most with Gavin. In time, they were instructed to leave due to busy and hectic patient intakes and emergencies. Simply put, they were both in the way, and they had to make themselves scarce. Gavin was furious with this notion, but before leaving the hospital, he vowed to try and seriously come up with a plan to help his mother, once and for all. Nines supported his new husband, and any decision Gavin wanted to make, he informed his partner that he would back him up all the way to the end.

Jeremy drove back with them, and once they all had a meeting in Nines’ apartment, Nines was certain things would be clearer. Maybe Jeremy had already forgotten his own words, but Nines hadn’t. The second they reached the apartment, Nines didn’t even allow for Gavin to offer the family lawyer a cup of coffee or any other refreshments. He immediately asked, “What’s the other condition?”

Both Gavin and Jeremy looked absolutely lost for a moment, and then Jeremy put on the same facial expression a child having been caught red-handed doing something his parents didn’t want him to be doing would. Knowing he was unable to avoid the topic for much longer, especially with Gavin in the room eyeing him cautiously, Jeremy unfolded beneath Nines’ scrutinizing gaze.

Heaving himself forward on the edge of his chair at the kitchen table, the round lawyer coughed up, “Gavin, it’s great that you and Nines are married, obtained a marriage certificate with the appropriate documents and all that, but the fact of the matter is that the estate and assets your father’s left you with—”

Interrupting a bit too quickly, Gavin asked, “How much are we talkin’, anyway? Because no one ever was specific about that.”

Jeremy scratched at his skin feverishly, taking his time before he rolled his eyes and relented prudently. “It’s a little over a million dollars, Gavin.”

….

Nines was the first to chuckle, though he wasn’t all that amused. “That’s funny! That great of a sum, huh?” He certainly didn’t believe it.

“I’m not lying to you,” Jeremy retorted, “would you care to see it for yourselves?”

The fact that he’d offered evidence right away shut Nines up. Any doubts he had flew right out the window. This wasn’t a laughing or joking matter, and he wasn’t going to offend Gavin’s sensibilities by mocking or pushing the issue.

Chin quivering while he fought to keep his composure, Gavin rasped timorously, “That’s…that’s all mine?”

Nodding, Jeremy concluded emphatically, “All yours, but there’s one final thing you have to do, Gavin.”

Nines hated bullshit. He hated smokes and mirrors, he despised magic tricks, and he loathed concealment of any kind. Especially, above all else, he loathed when people suspended highly vital information or were dramatic about withholding on it to build suspense or create tension. It was so unnecessary, and this moment especially didn’t require it. He took it upon himself to slice away at the games Jeremy Hamilton was playing.

Stepping towards the man, Nines peered down at him heatedly. “Listen, Mr. Hamilton, Gavin’s been through enough, and I think it’s best for you to—”

Hanging his head dejectedly, Gavin whispered, “I have to patch things up with him, don’t I?”

Frozen due to hearing how ragged and exhausted Gavin sounded, Nines barely was able to wheeze through his clenched teeth, “Who’s ‘him’?” Although he felt he had a pretty strong idea whom they were referring to, Nines preferred hearing the truth.

Clasping his hands together tightly, Gavin whispered dejectedly, “Elijah Kamski.”

Nines’ jaw fell open to the point where he could’ve assumed it collapsed and hit the floor. Stunned beyond comprehension, he nearly toppled over as he wheezed in Jeremy’s direction heatedly, “You…y-you fucking…”

“Don’t swear at me, Nines,” Jeremy practically roared at him, “I’m not the one who set these terms and conditions of this fiduciary contract, now am I?”

The question presented a rather obvious, fatuous reply, and seeing as it was so incredibly pointless an absurd, Nines only shook his head. He knew how sensitive Gavin was when it came to his family, especially when Elijah Kamski was involved. While the android wasn’t completely aware of just how deep Gavin’s relationship with his half-sibling happened to be, he was certain after sensing and picking up on Gavin’s scant clues, that it was quite the sordid, messy past. He figured that whenever the aloof man was ready to come forth with it, he would do so, but on his own terms and time…_this_ wasn’t the case.

Wanting to voice this concern, Nines hissed at Jeremy, “This is completely unacceptable, and I think you know it, Jeremy.” Gesturing at Gavin with an extended arm and a shrug in his direction, he bemoaned, “Can’t you see that things aren’t so well right now?! The nerve!”

Hands muffling sounds of his labored breaths, Gavin hid his face away from the other two occupants in the room. However, he still participated in the conversation as much as he could, even though Nines had initially assumed he’d fight and struggle against the harsh fuzziness and circumlocution. While trembling, Gavin groused, “As much as I don’t want to do this, and as much as suicide is a sound option, I’ll do it.”

Audio receptors momentarily fizzing out as though he’d malfunctioned, Nines gasped, “What’s that, Gavin?” Was he hearing things?!

His new husband slapped a hand down on his thigh, as though to command attention. “Nines, my mom _will_ beat this! She can do so with our help!”

…He had to be seriously dreaming this all up, and even Jeremy looked down at the floor awkwardly in a fit of mild mortification and more so discomfort. Strangely, Nines understood his inner turmoil; he couldn’t say much given the situation; he was ‘stuck’.

Closing his eyes, he chose his words carefully. “Gavin, I want to help and support you along the way here as much as I can,” with utmost patience, he pressed on. “Anything you want, I’ll do, but I really don’t think that re-connecting with someone who’s caused you nothing but suffering and pain is a logical and practical solution.”

Arms waving in the air, Gavin’s desperate cries pierced through in shrill desperation. “Do _you_ have enough money for my mom’s treatment, medicine, and hospital costs, then?”

“…No.”

A dry laugh came next, “Well…there you go.” Turning to address Jeremy, Gavin nodded, “I got this. I can do it, with or without my partner.”

Lips curling back immediately, Nines hissed impatiently, “There’s no need for that, is there really?” Tongue clicking against his lower teeth, he added, “I’m here for you as I always said I’d be, Gavin, and I fucking meant it, okay?”

“Gentlemen,” Jeremy butted in, trying to maintain a level of calm and civility through it all. “Please, remain calm, and I think it’s entirely up to Gavin to decide what he wants to do, and how he wishes to proceed with it.”

“Give him some false hope?” Nines snorted, “is that what you’re telling me to do?” Such a notion was more so hinging on a mumpsimus; they knew the end goal, they knew the risks, and yet they were _still _marching on…

Stupid. This suggestion was anathema to the gothic, opinionated android.

“Nines,” Jeremy groaned his name as if it were a swear word. Shaking his head and adjusting his glasses further along the bridge of his nose, he stated gently, “It’s up to Gavin, and even though you’re now legally his husband, that doesn’t mean you have the same sort of tie to him like his family by blood have.” Crestfallen, the round, chubby lawyer ran a hand through his hair, messing it up in the process. “Let Gavin do what he feels is best, and the only thing I can encourage you to do as a partner, is to just be there and support him every step of the way.”

Teeth clenched tightly, Nines shut his eyes one final time. He knew he’d lost, and as much as this tugged at every fiber of his being in all the wrong ways possible, he wasn’t going to set all that before his spouse’s family. To do that would mean he had to sinker lower than scum and dirt, and Nines knew he cared far too much about Gavin to do such a thing.

Silently, he turned and left the room, but he called out to his partner and their guest while craning his head down.

“Very well.”

He only hoped he wouldn’t regret his choice.

*x*x*x*x*x*

During the course of the next few days, Gavin and Nines took turns visiting Carrie in the hospital. This had to be done only due to the fact that Fowler had requested for them both to return to work. As it so happened, Gary, Luke, and Captain Allen apparently had decided to resign from working for the DPD…under mysterious circumstances, no less. Fowler of course had been highly suspicious of Nines and Gavin, but without any evidence or reports from the trio who’d left without a trace, he had to tuck his personal doubts away for the time being.

February sailed through like a ship on a peaceful sea, and as Nines and Gavin grew accustomed to the routinely visits, Fowler turned angry, dense, and quite shot-tempered. Cases never slowed down, and crime rates seemed to be steadily increasing as the weather warmed up. When he demanded to know why Gavin needed another ‘personal day’, Nines caved in and finally admitted to their superior that Gavin’s mother wasn’t well. Though he hadn’t provided a lot of information and detail, Fowler said he ‘got it’, and he stopped bothering them both about it.

Back into their ‘routine’, Nines and Gavin seriously soon forgot that they’d been married for almost half a month before it was Nines’ turn to see Carrie.

He’d been in the middle of a meeting with Captain Fowler and the Chief of the board of Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence Prevention in Detroit, when his phone had buzzed. The incoming text notification thankfully hadn’t been heard by many people, as a lot of the board members for some reason found Nines’ lack of LED light, new hairstyle, as well as short-sleeve AXL shirt with straps far more fascinating than anything else currently going on. Clearly, Nines was the most important thing in the meeting, and quickly, the topic had been abandoned as everyone stared awkwardly at Nines.

Sneaking his phone out of his jean pocket, as Nines suspected, it was Gavin.

**Husband, 1:26 p.m.**

**Nines, the car broke down.**

Trying to hold back from sighing his feelings of impatience and frustration right out, Nines texted back quickly, while Fowler read some kind of an annual report on statistics compiled from battered women’s shelters over the last year.

**RK900, 1:28 p.m.**

**Shit…can you fix it?**

While Nines sat back and waited for the reply, his eyes swam over towards Gavin’s new contact name.

Husband?? Since when had he gone in and changed the name?? He honestly couldn’t recall…strange…it felt _too_ natural to be real, now.

**Husband, 1:31 p.m.**

**Im going wit Hank to a mechanic now, bt i wont be able to makr it on time to se my mom!**

This time, Nines did in fact hiss out loud, “Shit!”

“That’s _not_ the kind of contribution or participation I was looking for, Nines, but I guess it sends quite a message,” came Fowler’s sarcastic jab. A few people at the table snorted, and as Nines lowered his phone, he knew what he had to do.

Without texting Gavin, first, Nines announced, “I’m afraid I’m going to have to excuse myself earlier than I thought; something’s come up, and it’s a bit of an emergency, sir.”

One of the board members tilted his head at Nines, sitting comfortably in his fancy suit while mocking the android. “Where you off to, Nines? Trouble with the Missus?”

Amused laughter rang high in the air, but Nines didn’t bother responding to it. Captain Fowler however seemed rather intrigued. Crossing his right hand over his chest and propping the left up to his chin, his eyebrows furrowed as he thoughtfully pressed out, “Come to think of it, Gavin said he needed time off work again, but I assumed it was just the married life talkin’.”

“What’s it like now that you’re married, Nines?” someone else had asked, and Fowler’s clinquant eyes widened a fraction.

“Yeah!” He chimed in, “Been meaning to ask you that myself, Nines! Still got your freedom, or has Gavin broken you down at home, already?”

Near the back of the room another person quipped, “I bet Nines has to do the dishes _every _night.”

Someone else snorted in amusement, “Oooh yeah! Can you imagine Gavin actually ‘slaving away’ with that chore?!”

“Yep! Bet it’s dish duty for Nines all the time!”

While his colleagues all shared in the laughter and jokes, Nines pondered the initial question. As he sat there listening to the droning hiss of the ebullient nature of his colleagues communicating, a seductive lassitude crept through his stressed-out system.

How was married life, indeed?

Ideally, he’d wanted to simply cough up a banal, bland response such as: ‘Fine’, ‘Good,’ and ‘Not too bad’, but the fact was that marriage to Gavin Reed wasn’t really any of these things, yet it was. They hadn’t realistically been married long enough for Nines to really draw a clear point of view. A lot of notions and ideations surrounding marriage and unions differed from individual to individual, country to country, culture to culture. Based on the most common factors, however, if Nines really had to label it, they’d technically behaved in ways married couples normally behaved in for a while, now. They’d lived together, redecorated their home together, and had experienced many ‘firsts’ as far as emotions and feelings were concerned. Truthfully, Nines felt a little embarrassed that they’d explored sex many, many times rather than abiding by the age-old tradition of waiting for the ‘wedding night’, but then again, he considered himself to be quite modern in that approach. As long as Gavin enjoyed it and it was a consensual, mutual activity, who cared?

He certainly did not, but that still hadn’t really left much room on the table for what married life was like for him. In all fairness, Gavin and Nines had been so busy rushing back and forth to check on Carrie, save money, and try to accommodate every need she had, that they hadn’t had any time to spend together as a ‘couple’. To Nines’ dismay, they hadn’t even kissed yet since the wedding…

Nervously glancing at his phone, he knew that he couldn’t ponder it all and mope about it now. Time was of the essence, and he excused himself and got ready to drive up to visit Carrie instead of Gavin.

Before he left the DPD, he made sure he texted Gavin first, however.

**RK900, 1:53 p.m.**

**I’ll go see your mother. You just be safe and try to get the car fixed if you can by the end of today, no matter how long it takes.**

Something lacked badly in the message, but Nines couldn’t piece it together while he began driving away.

*x*x*x*x*x*

Carrie was wide awake by the time Nines sat down next to her side on a vacant chair. Today, the hospital room looked a lot cleaner and livelier to be in. A few doves and pigeons sat outside on the windowsill, pecking randomly at the small bits of flurries that sat about on the windowsill. The weather had turned a lot colder by the time Nines reached the hospital, but as was expected in the early transition to mid-March.

Smiling as gently as he could, Nines asked, “Are you cold?”

A small quilt had been draped over Carrie’s back and shoulders. She appeared to be okay breathing on her own without the use of any device, thankfully, but she really had lost more weight since Nines last visited her. The observant android was even able to see that a lot of her veins pulsed and were quite visible even from a distance, but he was wise not to comment on it.

Nodding and smiling widely, Carrie coughed once before she answered, “They heat up my room really well.”

Nines handed her a clean, fresh tissue, and she held it in her left hand and coughed gently. She was holding back on a lot in terms of the coughing, but Nines didn’t want to spoil her mood and day pondering cynical things. If he needed to, he knew how to get a hold of a nurse, but he wasn’t anticipating for anything shocking or crazy to happen. As far as he could tell, Carrie had been given a lot of medication, and she was already slightly woozy from it.

Reminding himself not to overwhelm her with a lengthy conversation, Nines limited the rest of his questions to ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answers, and his statements were brief and concise. Being succinct was the best, as Carrie was already beginning to sway and tilt her head the longer he sat in silence.

Pitying her when he saw the injection marks and bruises the piercing needles had left behind marring her alabaster skin, Nines sighed wistfully. “Are you eating?”

“Not much,” the answer was slowly delivered, and Carrie stared out her window. “Can’t keep much down.”

Not wanting her to worry, Nines commented, “I think that’s okay; eat what you can.”

“I do.”

All her time could’ve been wasted, and Nines knew they didn’t have a lot of it to begin with. Clearing his throat, he stated, “Gavin’s working hard lately. He would’ve come to see you, but he…” Pausing, he omitted talking about the car, as he had no doubts in his mind that Carrie would worry. “He was handed a case at the last minute,” he instead chose to say, and it was the better choice judging by Carrie’s reaction.

Beaming at him, she cooed, “It’s a-alright, Nines. How’s my boy doing, anyway?”

Looking away from her large, bulbous head, Nines answered gently, “Busy, busy, busy, but we’re doing well, honest. I mean,” he swiftly corrected, “Gavin’s doing well, Carrie.”

Sighing softly, she leaned back into her pillows and closed her eyes. “Good.” Turning her words at the ceiling, she continued in a dreamy tone. “You know, Nines, I d-didn’t really think you’d be able to handle my son before wh-when we first m-met.”

Having heard all this before, the patient RK900 could only nod as he wrapped his winter jacket around himself tighter. Under any other normal circumstance, he would’ve removed it indoors, but he didn’t want to give Carrie Moser a heart attack due to how he was dressed.

Eyes closing, Carrie’s breaths grew deep, and her words slurred. “But…now…I c-can say…I’ve m-made…the…right…ch-choice.”

This was a new one. As happy and pleased as she’d seemed to be during the ceremony, Nines thought she’d only been ecstatic due to her ‘high’ off the morphine. IV still full, Carrie was out of it while humming to herself. Nines would’ve pressed her for more details, seeing as she’d said something that tickled his curious nature, but she spoke on without his encouragement.

Fingers twitching, Carrie sang and hummed, “Gavin…will…b-be…taken…c-care…of…that’s…w-w-wh-what…I…w-w-wanted…all…along…hiiiiis…fa-ather…w-w-wanted…th-that…toooo…”

A mother’s last wish; the safety and ultimate happiness of her child. Gavin’s success, comfort, joy, and satisfaction had rested on her shoulders for so many years, Nines could see that. She’d tried hiding it well enough through a harsh exterior, but that wasn’t Carrie’s heart.

Reaching out and touching her arm gently, Nines made contact with her wrist, first, and then his eyes captured the sight of her fish tattoo. Smiling a lopsided smile at it, he stated empathetically, “You don’t have to worry about Gavin; I’ll take care of him, and together, we’re going to take care of you, too.” Fingers stroking her soft, cold skin, Nines sighed, “I promise…I swear it to you.”

Sensing how genuine he was, Carrie cried fresh, roscid tears, and Nines-thinking she was in pain or upset-stood up quickly. “Carrie?! Are you alright?! Can I get you anything?!”

Her demeanor was a complete, polar opposite to his perplexed one. Chuckling, she held up her opposite hand, and she tenderly stroked Nines’ cheeks. “Call…me…mom.”

Hesitating for a split second, Nines finally picked up his courage, though he was unable to meet her weary, slightly pink eyes. “Mom…” If the gothic android had to wager, the bizarre reaction that seemed more like a coarctation of an appropriate emotional response rising like a lump in his throat served as nothing short of a reminder that this had a greater impact on him than he originally assumed to be possible.

“I love…you…Nines…” Carrie heckled in a poorly timed manner. “…I…l-l-love everybody…th-that’s…what’s k-k-killin’…meeee!!”

While he didn’t agree in the slightest, he continued holding her hands in his own. Never knowing what he’d expected aside from the sounds of her gentle breathing when she eventually succumbed to a deep sleep, Nines discovered he hadn’t ceased staring at the tattoo she brandished until it grew dark outside. He didn’t know why, but all this time, they both had tattoos almost on the exact same spots on the same arm.

Gazing down at his own in comparison, Nines pressed his flesh against Carrie’s. Hers was slightly warmer, though not by a large distinction. Both pale arms resting together side by side, Nines forlornly gaped down at the fish and its glittering scales that glided and danced along Carrie’s forearm. He still thought the tattoo was absolutely idiotic, but then again, so was his own.

Smiling down at the ink decorating their skin, the sound of a faint fluttering of wings beat outside the half-open hospital window. In the distance, a small coo sounded, and Nines recognized it in no time. Turning his neck to peer over his shoulder, he beamed when he caught sight of a pure white dove with black beady eyes staring through the window at them both. Perched nicely on the windowsill, it panned its wings out and cocked its neck at them.

It was watching intently and cooing soft songs perhaps only nature would always be able to decipher and appreciate.

Stroking Carrie’s cold, ghostly pallor running up and down her arms, Nines continued observing the dove as intently as it was observing them. “Oh indeed,” he mumbled, perhaps to himself, perhaps to Carrie, perhaps to the dove, or perhaps to no one in particular. “Whatever he feels…is that only a curious fixation, or a deeper desire he should have for me?”

With a short sigh escaping her chapped lips, Carrie whispered faintly, “I…can…hear…a-angels, Nines…since…I…was…a…little g-g-girl, I…h-heard…angels…s-singing for…me.”

At least her words had lit a warm fire in his once melanic eyes and in his blood as he returned home. For now, he was able to escape the grim reality that was now his world and Gavin’s. Soon, he would be reunited with his husband.

The white dove only left when he did.


	72. Masked Desire

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fucking hard core sex shit.

Nines learned very quickly that cohabiting with Gavin as a partner was exactly the same as it’d been prior to their actual marriage. Gavin was still sloppy, messy, abrasive, brazen, rude, and loud. He insisted upon having things done his way and a certain way, and he was often quick to bark at Nines in anger or displeasure. Nines hadn’t minded it then, and he didn’t mind it now. Nothing had really changed, aside from the odd comment or two that Gavin would lash out at Nines with in regard to him having no LED light, his clothes, or something silly here and there.

In the following week, February came to a close end, and as it had, the new couple found they had bills to pay. These pressing matters urgently demanded Gavin’s time and mental energy away from both Nines, as well as Nines’ onslaught of questions regarding when Gavin supposed he would be ready to reach out to Elijah, at the very least. Making that first step was going to be the hardest, and it appeared that Gavin was doing everything in his power to put that off.

One evening after work, Gavin searched through their mail, and he sighed as he tossed the pile of letters into Nines’ face. “Would you like a utility bill?” he joked acerbically, and Nines merely ignored him. They didn’t need another argument, and if Gavin continued, surely, it would end that way.

So they didn’t live the most mollitious lifestyle. If Gavin held a penchant for dispendious items and materialistic things, it was about time that reality came knocking hard in the form of silence. That was how it sometimes happened to be, but rather than suggesting to his husband a solution to their budding financial problems, Nines chose to remain silent.

Clearly, that was a wrong move.

Dispiteous anger practically rolling and rising off Gavin’s shoulders, he snapped irritably as he filed through the letters, tossing each of them into Nines’ face as he went along chanting out loud.

“Bullshit, bullshit, ads, ads, bills, bills, car payments, hospital bills, bills, ads, and more bills.” Finishing by slamming the last one down on the kitchen table, Gavin folded his arms across his chest and laughed dryly. “Fuckin’ tired of bills comin’ out of my fuckin’ ears!”

Nines eyed Gavin’s new clothes. While mirroring almost majority of Nines’ ‘punk’ style of clothing, everything Gavin was wearing seemed to be brand-new. How risible for a man claiming to have financial burdens and woes.

Snorting derisively, Nines retorted, “Perhaps you should watch how you spend your money until more of it comes in, then.”

Studying his fingernails for a second, Gavin sniped in a blasé manner, “I’m working; I have a freakin’ job.”

“I do too,” Nines argued back quickly, “but I can manage my damn expenses.”

Too quick to get defensive, Gavin cried out while pointing at Nines, “Are you sayin’ I’m irresponsible or somethin’?!”

“No,” Nines drawled while rolling his eyes and shaking his head. “I just mean we have to consider how we spend money, especially now that we have an ailing woman to care for.”

Not backing down, Gavin threw his husband a caustic sneer while planting his hands firmly on his hips to take on a defensive, aggressive stance. “Are you suggestin’ that we’re better off without my mom, Nines? Is that _really_ what you’re sayin’?!”

Stunned on the spot due to hearing the less than prefulgent argument, Nines gasped dismally. “Is _everything_ a damn argument for you, Gavin?!” Head still shaking back and forth, he added mordantly, “My god, it’s like anything I say is the wrong thing these days.”

Standoffishly, Gavin growled, “Then shut up if you have nothin’ else to offer, you stupid machine.”

Anger at a boiling point, Nines knew that Gavin had to have been in a seriously low, dark place to refer to him as a machine. They’d never had this kind of a shift in their arguments before, and for Gavin to resort to it was utterly cruel. Due to all the pent-up anger, stress, and financial burdens, however, the prescient warning signs were all laid bare before this argument even began. All that had been missing was the contributing factors, and then a conduit.

Resisting the urge to kick at one of the legs of the kitchen table, Nines roared, “_Machine_?? What happened to ‘Nines’??”

Eyes narrowed into tiny, dangerous slits almost like that of a ghoul, Gavin sneered with attitude dripping. “I don’t know!”

It was enough. The tension was too high, the anger too great, the fury too raw. It was enough to send Nines reeling in sickness he’d never known. It coiled and pooled in every part of his bio-components and bio-sensors, and it raged back at him like a potent, violent storm that couldn’t and wouldn’t ever end. Nothing was right, anymore. The apartment was in shambles and a complete disorganized mess. The letters and papers around his feet where Gavin had unceremoniously tossed them almost insulted Nines far more than any harsh curse word Gavin could’ve ever thrown his way.

Deciding to let it all out, Nines stood abruptly, and with a beastly roar, he swiped all the contents of the kitchen table off the surface, and he then upturned the table in the same way he’d done to the previous one prior to purchasing this new replacement. It smashed down to the floor loudly, but Nines wasn’t through, yet. Grabbing small, glass flowerpots, he smashed and broke them all. The soil had been flung across the kitchen, coating the walls and ceiling, practically. Gavin reacted by screaming, begging Nines to stop, and wailing in terror. He’d shouted to his partner that they were making too much noise for the neighbors, that the cops would be called on them, and that the apartment was going to get ruined.

But these were all things Nines knew, and they were things he didn’t _want_ to hear. Right now, he didn’t give much of a damn about the apartment, noise complaints, or the police. He was absolutely incapable of stopping himself now that he was on the bloody warpath.

Eventually, he whirled around, looking for new things to damage ruthlessly. In the wake of it all, as he faced the kitchen sink while halfway bent over it, Gavin threw himself on top of Nines’ back and shoulders. The tall, lean android propped himself up on his elbows as he growled and clawed mercilessly at the counter, but slowly felt himself calming down the second Gavin’s fingers rubbed and massaged the tension he never knew he had away.

“Shh, shh,” Gavin soothed, “Nines…please!”

The sheer desperation in his cries harpooned through Nines painfully. Lifting himself up and away from the counter, he tightly gripped Gavin’s face in both large hands. Pressing their foreheads together, he snarled deeply, “Gavin, I can’t fucking stress this enough, but everything I’m trying to do, _everything,_” the emphasis of the words were so sharp and raw, that Gavin’s face turned red just like his eyes.

“_Everything _I’m doing is for _you,_” Nines stressed vehemently. “I don’t have any other purpose to my existence, and it all boils down to you. Nothing else fucking matters to me.”

Almost rocking into Nines, the shorter, concerned male whispered on a shaky breath, “I-it’s okay…we’ll get through this, Nines! We can do this…”

Chuckling, though more so in a sarcastic, dry fashion, Nines closed his eyes and only relied on the tactile senses while he spoke out to Gavin. “It’s not easy dealing with you…the fucking yelling and fucking swearing…it’s an impetus for anyone to leave, but I’m _still_ here.”

The tremors of Gavin’s quivering body were all he could feel relentlessly while Gavin hurriedly pushed out, “We can do this, Nines…shh! We’ve been through worse! Let’s do better, together! We can do it!”

Nines really, _really_ hoped so, and he prayed tenaciously for that very thing as he felt Gavin’s arms wrapping tightly around his back and shoulders, pulling their bodies flush right against each other.

*x*x*x*x*x*

One night later, Nines learned that Gavin turned to sex when he was in dire need of a strong coping mechanism that didn’t involve alcohol. Since their marriage, Nines had kept a close eye on Gavin’s drinking habits, and though he loathed boasting, he noticed a dip in alcohol consumption due to his preventative measures. Emptying all the bottles of alcohol they had, soon, Nines had left his lover with little room for navigating through other options, and that was when Gavin used sexual, prurient acts and intimacy to deal with the stress that was slowly piling up on his head and smothering him.

Nines wasn’t even sure how it’d happened. All he knew was that one minute after supper, Gavin was helping him clean up, washing the dishes, mopping the floor, and then the next, they were sitting side-by-side in the living room before the TV. For a moment, they were engaged in flipping through the dull, banal channels, nothing of interest catching their eyes, and then a moment later, they were all over each other. Nines wasn’t even sure who started it. All he knew was that his abstemious fingers were combing through Gavin’s hair, and his half-lidded eyes captured the sight of Gavin’s white tips fading away. It was a sensational feeling and paired with the way in which Gavin was grinding and gyrating his hips over his own, Nines chose to take the rest of the pleasurable experience to the bedroom.

They walked along, with Gavin inside the bedroom first, his heartbeat hammering against his rib cage. Nines stood close behind, spinning Gavin around roughly when he’d attempted to walk too far. The shorter male welcomed his partner’s strong body to his own as their mouths crashed together only seconds later. Kissing was familiar so much that it came easily to them both. Gavin happily submitted when Nines pressed for more, his tongue sweeping through his partner’s mouth in deep, languid circles. Growling in deep-seated lust, Nines found that to his content, Gavin tasted the same as before, and he tangled his long fingers in his lover’s coarse hair. In response, Gavin turned towards Nines, eager to feel their bodies pressed together.

Not one to deny such a passionate wish, Nines sandwiched a leg between Gavin’s, and he purposefully pressed his knee gently up along Gavin’s stiff cock. It made the detective’s eyes roll back into his head. Nines felt himself igniting when Gavin moaned softly and squeezed his thighs together in reaction, not in the least bit embarrassed by the noises he made.

“Is that good?” Nines asked against his lover’s sensual mouth before trailing searing kisses along Gavin’s jaw and down his neck. The shorter male shivered, goose bumps scattering across his skin like marbles along tile.

When Nines impatiently nipped at Gavin’s collarbone, he gasped, “It’s _so_ fucking good.”

Nines snickered knowing that his lover had obviously forgotten his nervousness while he sought more contact with his knee. The pressure was no doubt tremendously pleasurable for Gavin, and Nines knew he was seeing stars. He slid his arm down the side of Gavin’s body, stopping at the knee. He then hooked his hand behind it and lifted it up to rest at the top of his hip while Gavin dug his nails into Nines’ bicep. Nines continued rubbing the growing heat between Gavin’s thighs, soon realizing that repositioning his lover’s leg like he had meant that his movements were even more effective. Clearly, it made Gavin crave more as his pelvic muscles tightened and clenched along Nines’ in a perfect way.

Nines nipped at Gavin’s neck, and it reminded the human of previous bites. Though he was having a difficult time forming a coherent thought, Gavin still panted out, “Could you umm…d-do something f-for me?”

Licking his skin in a long swipe across his neck, Nines grinned. “Oh, I can do a lot,” he murmured, his voice vibrating against the sensitive skin under Gavin’s ear.

Blushing, Gavin whispered, “I mean on my neck…” His thoughts ran fuzzy, but he garbled out, “Ah…umm…like a hickey?”

Nines lifted his head enough so that he could see his lover’s eyes. “You mean mark you?”

Nodding, Gavin sighed, “Yeah…isn’t that silly? I mean, you’ve kinda done it before, but—”

“I’ll do whatever you want,” Nines growled, his voice deep and husky. “But where exactly?”

Gavin shrugged where he lay against his partner’s arms. “On my neck somewhere, I guess. I don’t care if anyone sees it.”

Delighted to hear such a thing, Nines held back on exploding in joy. “You don’t?”

“No. I’m not ashamed of it. I want it. I want everyone to know.” The answer had been completely sincere and fully passionate.

Before this wonderful dream could end, Nines grabbed Gavin’s leg again and pulled him even closer before sealing his lips to his partner’s neck. He sucked and nipped away with fervor, knowing that between the pressure over Gavin’s cock and the gentle sucking on his neck, this would render the shorter human weak. As Nines suspected, Gavin chased after the sweet sensation. Closing his eyes, he began to move his hips against Nines, and Nines allowed him to find a rhythm that was quite efficacious for them both. Soon, he moved back against Gavin in time.

At once, upon feeling Gavin’s nails digging into his lower back, Nines lost all control. He bit down viciously, this time breaking skin to a bit of a painful degree. Gavin whimpered, and in apology, Nines kissed a wet, slightly bloody trail from his collarbone up to his shapely jaw.

“Fuck yes,” Nines panted once he lapped away at Gavin’s blood smeared across his lower lip. Once his sensors and system took in all of Gavin’s taste, his arousal, his desire, he saw stars. It felt much like being on a roller coaster for all of Nines’ worth.

The heat of his ragged breathing warmed up the shell of Gavin’s ear. Pressing himself against his larger, taller partner, Gavin whined, “That’s it, Nines; don’t hold back! Use me…use my b-body…do whatever y-you need…”

That had been the ultimate breaking point for Nines. More violently than he’d intended to do so, he shoved Gavin onto the bed. While he’d initially meant to be as gentle as possible, Gavin didn’t seem to want that in the slightest. Pushing Nines roughly, he tried climbing on top of his dour husband to bite at his lips aggressively. Two could play this game.

Delivering a herculean shove to Gavin’s body, Nines tossed him back again forcefully onto the duvet covers and clean pillows. The mattress gave out a small groan, and the bedsprings creaked in protest as Nines leaned down with his right kneecap on one side of Gavin’s body, while his arm came down between the opposite side, effectively caging his husband between the bed and his own strong body. Ensuring their lips didn’t meet even once, Nines began his own torment.

Pinching Gavin’s nipples, he laughed at his lover’s discomfort and ran his hands down to the other man’s pants. He made a quick work of the button and zipper on Gavin’s fly to snake his hand into the opening, his lips latching onto the side of Gavin’s delicious neck once he’d discarded the boxers, too.

Gavin moaned loudly at the feel of hot lips and tongue against his skin, his eyes glazing over with lust. They hadn’t done this in a while, and as frustrated and tormented as both men happened to be, they channeled their anger and stress out through aggressive biting and nipping.

In a blur, everything was escalating, slowly spiraling out of control. When Gavin nearly screamed as Nines’ teeth clamped down over his collarbone, the aggressive android knew what heaven was. “You have to be quiet,” the aroused android whispered against his partner’s feverish skin. “People might hear you, and as much as it makes me hard as fuck hearing your screams, we could do without another noise complaint from the neighbors.” Truthfully, the last noise complaint had only been Nines’ doing thanks to the loud music he often played.

…But he wanted to make Gavin feel a little badly about it, anyway.

When his warnings proved to go unheeded, Nines clamped a hand over his lover’s mouth, the other one rising up to fist in Gavin’s shirt before fondling his heavy cock. Nimble fingers stroked over the human’s sensitive flesh, coaxing him into full hardness. Gavin whimpered as he felt Nines’ mouth travelling up to suck on his ear, his hips thrusting into the narrow channel of Nines’ long fingers sliding and teasing his naked erection.

A few times, Gavin really tried kissing him, but Nines wasn’t going to allow it. His secret kept was that he was still quite upset with Gavin for bringing him to an angry, boiling point the other day. Wanting to gain some leverage in the situation, Nines groped his husband’s ass in a painful grip. Shockingly, Gavin ate it right up, drowning himself in the chaotic and violently sexual battle they’d both initiated.

“Turn around,” Nines demanded softly, hand squeezing Gavin’s erection for emphasis. When Gavin didn’t immediately comply, he simply placed his hands on the detective’s hips and spun him around, maneuvering the human carefully in the small space. “Turn around, I said.” Once he had a good enough hold on his partner’s hips, Nines pressed a hand down on the back of Gavin’s head, and he shoved the smaller, shorter man’s face down into the sheets. Careful to allow Gavin some breathing room, Nines pressed their bodies tightly together.

Of course, there was minor resistance. Gavin bucked and reared up, growling like an unrestrained, wild animal. All it did was light a potent fire in Nines’ loins, and his hunger and desire burned even brighter for Gavin. To think, they were going to-for the first time since their wedding-have sex as husbands. This brought a whole new meaning to what they were going to do, and Nines’ ideations were renewed vastly when he considered the unique bond. Yes, there was a label. Husbands, lovers, partners, spouses. That’s what they were to each other, and they were going to have sex as partners.

Nines was going to have sex with his spouse.

….

Well, if Gavin would permit him. The detective was behaving far too petulantly, and his recalcitrant displays of ‘dominance’ were only testing Nines’ patience. Glaring on at Gavin through his lust-filled eyes surrounded and coated in eyeliner and thick, smoky grey eyeshadow, giving him quite a mysterious, somber appeal to his features, he yanked his partner up to his feet. Powerfully, Nines pushed Gavin up against the wall nearest to the bed, pinning him firmly against it as he rammed his chest into Gavin’s back.

His blue eyes could capture the lovely sight of Gavin bracing himself against the wall and biting his lower lip in an attempt to keep quiet. Nines knew that behind himself, Gavin was able to feel the movement of silk against his bare thighs as Nines undid his belt, tossed it to the floor loudly, and worked swiftly to take his jeans off. Together, they both heard the zipper on the android’s pants being pulled down with a loud harshness that helped build the white-hot tension. They were both suspended, eagerly awaiting more.

Gavin spread his legs on instinct when Nines’ hands ran up and down his sides, bunching his shirt up under his arms. The shirt came off eventually, and with minimal fuss. To Nines’ shock, Gavin was surprised by the warmth of the air in the room. Leaping back, he purposefully ground his ass right where Nines’ arousal was pointing and jabbing at him through his black cotton briefs. Taking them off, Nines could practically see the infinitesimal shrouds of euphoria Gavin was currently wrapped in.

Arching his back, Gavin clearly wanted to be penetrated, but Nines wasn’t going to give him that. Not today.

“Keep your legs together,” he instructed coldly, nipping at the back of Gavin’s neck, and only rewarding him with a few kisses for good behavior.

The short male did as he was told, pressing his legs together tightly. Shrugging out of his briefs, Nines could hardly contain his own state of profound arousal. Guiding himself forward, he aimed his hot and hard cock between Gavin’s clamped thighs. He was slipping between his lover, and in the hazy, heady state of arousal, Nines wondered why they’d never tried this before. As he continued sliding and pressing against his lover’s balls, he felt the tip of his cock sliding along Gavin’s own length. In front of himself, Gavin stifled multiple groans, and each and every one of them made Nines’ cock grow harder and harder by the second. Noises spurred him on, and he really began appreciating auditory senses during sex more than ever. Gavin panting drove him insane with want, and he lightly licked and bit the nape of his lover’s neck. Now, at the height of his arousal, Nines began moving his hips.

The hot slide of skin against skin forced another sound out of Gavin, and Nines’ system sensed blood about in the air. Craning his head to the side to peek at Gavin while fucking the space between his legs in a powerful rhythm, he caught the sight of Gavin chewing feverishly on his lower lip. The blood was there as his teeth broke through his lip, and Nines nearly came from the sight of it alone. Gavin was reacting this way because of him…he’d been responsible for such behaviors in his lover…

Moving faster and harder while imagining he was pumping himself deeply inside Gavin, Nines slid a hand up along Gavin’s chest, and then lowered that same hand down to his front. Knowing what to do and exactly how to please his husband, Nines began toying with Gavin’s cock. With his free hand, he plucked and pulled on Gavin’s left nipple, already as hard as a diamond. Wanting to taste his husband at the peak of his aroused state, Nines nibbled the other man’s ear. In turn, Gavin could barely manage to refrain from crying out.

There weren’t any other sounds in the room except for their ragged breathing and the sound of skin slapping against skin. Every time Nines moved, he felt Gavin shuddering. He knew his lover was almost swooning in the sensation of a thick cock moving against himself, behind himself, between his feverish skin. Nimble fingers trailed fire across Gavin’s chest, a thumb rubbing against one nipple repeatedly.

A desperate cry escaped Gavin, and it was far too loud. Smirking, Nines hissed in his partner’s ear seductively, “Hush…”

Evidently, the husky whisper had been enough to cause Gavin to twist his head to one side and bite down on his own arm in an attempt to keep quiet.

Deciding to end the torture, Nines’ hand moved expertly up and down Gavin’s erection. Maneuvering his hips in the right way, as he aimed for the tightest spot, Nines wrapped his hand tightly around both of their lengths. Unrestrained, his cock slid along the underside of Gavin’s, and as he thrust faster and harder, he could almost smell Gavin’s blood pounding in his ears and arousal flooding through him.

“Come,” Nines whispered, lips moving against his lover’s ear, and that’s all it took for Gavin to fall off the edge. Nines saw his teeth almost breaking through the skin of his arm, and the shorter male bucked wildly back against his husband. Then, Nines found himself breaking, coming as well, his semen mixing with Gavin’s on the wall in front of them.

Spent, Nines withdrew, and Gavin let out a grateful sigh. The room suddenly felt too cramped for him to fall to his knees or collapse. “Well,” he coughed, chest caving in, “_that_ was something.” His hands gingerly dabbed at his neck while Nines gently turned him over.

Back against the wall, now, a worried expression slanted over Gavin’s face. “How bad is it?”

Nines winced remorsefully as soon as he took in the sight of his ‘handiwork’. “Umm…the marks are pretty dark and deep…I kind of got carried away because of you…I’m sorry.”

With a satisfied smirk, Gavin purred, “Good. I told you, I’m not ashamed.”

Wrapping a large hand around Gavin’s throat, Nines didn’t squeeze, but he let his husband know that the weight of his limb was just there. “You’re so fucking weird,” he spat coldly and wantonly, hoping his new erection already growing wouldn’t be noticed yet by a worn-out Gavin.

Winking, Gavin shamelessly cooed, “Pot calling kettle black, babe.”

Strangely, Nines found he had no argument for that in the least. Cautiously glancing at Gavin, he gave the human’s pulsating neck an experimental squeeze, this time. Gavin softly coughed out but didn’t move an inch.

Meeting his android husband’s intense gaze, he growled through clenched teeth, “Harder…you fuckbucket…”

Obeying, Nines bestowed more pressure, though he wasn’t going to crush Gavin’s neck, even if for some strange reason he was asked to do so. “Hmph,” he scoffed as he ground his erection with determination into Gavin’s hip. “Is that the best you can do?”

Raising his brows, Gavin coughed again, face slowly turning deep pink when Nines tightened his hold over his neck. “I’m…g-going…to…fuck…you…Nines…”

Understanding that Gavin meant ‘fuck’ as in ‘dominate’, Nines steadily gave a curt nod. “Come and try.” Giving out one final squeeze, Nines paused, allowing it to linger before he moved away from Gavin without staring at his throat.

“Take me back to bed, Nines,” his exhausted husband begged roughly, voice hoarse and raw as he slumped over into Nines’ strong arms. The blood had started to dry out on his neck where Nines had bitten him ferociously, but the sight and smell of it all made Nines heady again with lust pounding in his system.

Raising a black brow, Nines nodded, wrapped his hands around Gavin’s waist, and he gently guided him down to the bed. He didn’t mind at all that Gavin lay his head on his chest, curled up against him, and was flat out cuddling with him.

*x*x*x*x*x*

Nines knew he was never going to get tired of kissing Gavin. He decided that in the next few days after wearing Gavin out in the bedroom. To his sheer amusement, the gothic android found that there were so many new things they could both explore in the bedroom. The world of sex was so vast and broad, and now that he had a good enough taste for it, the android developed an insatiable lust. Gavin matched his lust, his sex drive quite high in the following days exponentially.

It thankfully didn’t disrupt their workdays, but the moment they both returned home, they attacked each other relentlessly and mercilessly. Supper had often been forgotten majority of the time, as their hunger and longing for something else was at the forefront of their minds. Nines never had so much sex thrown at him before, but since Gavin was the first person he’d ever been intimate with, he wasn’t going to complain. Although he hadn’t come forth with his true feelings, yet, the fact that he was making love to someone he had strong and passionate feelings for was enough to send him reeling back in heady happiness he’d never known.

And how could he grow weary of it? The things Gavin taught him were breathtakingly beautiful. In less than a week, Gavin had shown him how to perform a damn good sixty-nine, and the once stoic android couldn’t get enough of laying sprawled on his back while Gavin straddled him from above, his ass pert in the air and ready for the taking. Nines loved groping and slapping his lover’s tight globes of pink flesh, parting them gently while he worked Gavin open with his tongue lewdly in ways that made the detective’s toes curl.

He was never going to get tired of the way Gavin pulled and raked his fingers through his hair as he tugged gently at his bottom lip with his teeth. He was never going to get tired of the way Gavin touched him, mapping out his body with his hands, lips, tongue, and cock.

But above all else, Nines tried not to think about what the future meant anytime he stared at the ring Gavin wore on his finger, and then trained his eyes down on his own ringless finger. Instead, he focused on how all the pleasure felt, right now.

Time passed pleasantly that way, and Nines soon fell into the perfect rhythm.

Early in the evening on March 8th, Nines was swept away by heavy passion once again, and Gavin had practically thrown him into the bedroom as soon as they finished supper. Unable to even take their shirts off, they rolled around on their bed desperately, growling and moaning as they struggled for dominance. Nines won, as he always had before, but he was merciful enough to allow Gavin to ride him.

And did he ever enjoy the way Gavin’s body pressed down against his as he straddled him. Sprawled on his back, Nines stared up at the beautifully sexy sights above, and he had to hold back before exploding all over. Gavin’s face was flushed, his hair was messy, skin was sweaty, and through the drenched t-shirt he was still wearing, Nines saw his husband’s rock-hard nipples tenting up. More than anything else, Nines loved that piercing feeling of a tongue in his mouth, and his black hair running against Gavin’s fingers.

“Fuck, how the hell are you doing this?” Nines’ voice was low and rough as he murmured against Gavin’s lips.

Hips and ass pressing down to meet Nines’ upward thrust, Gavin moaned loudly, breaking their frenzied kiss. “How am I doing what?” he asked, not opening his eyes or moving his lips away from Nines’ more than a fraction of an inch, symbolic of wanting to coax out another kiss from the android.

Gripping his chin in a hand, Nines slammed their mouths together. Biting and tugging his husband’s lower lip with his teeth, he was cautious not to break skin. Sucking, then, he finished the rough kiss by flicking his tongue gracefully over the spot he’d bitten. “This,” he growled with an air of possessiveness. “Making me act like this.”

Gavin hummed, “Don’t know.” He moved his lips down to kiss Nines’ jaw slowly, before nipping the skin below his ear gently and smoothing it over with his tongue. And Nines actually moaned in need much as Gavin had previously.

Massaging the human’s toned thighs, Nines sighed, “We used to have issues with you being on top like this, but I think you’ve gotten more comfortable with it, now.” Indeed, Gavin wasn’t quite as self-conscious as he was in the beginning when Nines first asked him to try the position.

Shyly, Gavin slowed their pace, though he still moved up and down. “I’m not doing anything,” he murmured, and then Nines was moving back up to meet his mouth. Before he could steal a kiss, however, Gavin pulled away.

“You’re doing something,” Nines insisted. “You make me wanna do all kinds of nasty things to you.”

Gavin suddenly tensed up a bit. He may have gotten used to Nines’ way of talking like that, but it still made him simultaneously uncomfortable and turned on from time to time.

Sensing the change, Nines purred while caressing and stroking Gavin’s hips. “What’s wrong?”

“I—”

A loud tapping sounded on the front door of the apartment. Both men stilled, and Nines hissed as he gripped Gavin’s firm hips. “Ignore them, and for fuck’s sake, don’t stop moving.”

Gavin gasped, “But—”

KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK!!

“Hello?? Hellooo??? Nines??”

Immediately, they both rolled their eyes.

“Fuck!” Nines growled, pressing a hand over his forehead. Gavin bunched the sheets up around his lower half, and he got off his husband in a hurry.

“It’s Ms. Baker,” Nines groaned, “the next-door neighbor…_again_!”

Shrugging, Gavin eyed the open door to the bedroom, and he whispered in a naughty tone, “Your turn to deal with the widow, babe.”

Fixing him with a resolute glare, Nines rebuked thickly, “Excuse me, but we did rock, paper, scissors last time, and I won!!”

Pointing at the barely healed bite wounds on his neck, Gavin snapped, “I _can’t_ go out like this, you freak! She’ll think you’re abusin’ me or some shit!!”

Rolling his eyes at the pathetic sight of it, Nines argued petulantly, “It was _your_ bright idea to be bitten, genius!”

Holding out a hand and gesturing out the bedroom, Gavin groused, “Do you _really_ want to be the one who has to explain how kinkier sex works to an elderly, devoutly Catholic woman, then?!”

Again, more tapping and knocking landed against the door, and both men knew that if it carried on in this way, it would soon draw far too much unnecessary attention. Wordlessly, Gavin prodded Nines to get up by nudging him in the chest.

“Why do I always have to do it?!” Nines hissed, and with an unrefined growl, he got off the bed to put on a pair of jeans. Hissing once the zipper was up, he groused, “My dick hurts!”

Sniggering, Gavin commented, “Aaaand _that’s_ why I’m glad I never top.”

Teasingly, Nines argued, “Bitch, you couldn’t handle topping me to save your life.”

Gasping in phony offense, Gavin sighed, “Bitch, we’ve never tried that, but I bet _if_ we did, you’d love it.”

Nines threw him a moue of pettiness, but when the old widow at the door pounded again, he forced himself to walk away.

“One second,” he sighed, and checking one more time to ensure that he’d hidden himself behind the door as best as he could so the old woman wouldn’t catch his obvious erection, he unlocked the door.

Standing there before him was his nosy, gaumless old neighbor, and she gasped when she stared at his messy dark hair about his head in odd angles. Thankfully, at least his dark eyeliner and heavy eyeshadow weren’t messy.

Nodding at her, Nines pleasantly forced out between his teeth, “Ms. Baker, how are you?”

Holding a hand over her chest, she let out a small chuckle as she fought to keep her breath steadied. “My word, Nines!” she gasped, “I was trying to follow through with my yoga program on the TV, when suddenly, this unholy, ungodly pounding and slamming echoed its way into my living room!!”

Still making sure his lower half was concealed by the door, Nines faked an oblivious scowl. “I didn’t hear it, Ms. Baker.” Behind himself in the bedroom, he could hear Gavin trying to contain his laughter, and failing to do so miserably.

Wagging her finger, the old woman stated soothly, “Nooo, I’m certain I heard it, Nines!! It was terrifying! It sounded like the old days when Father Morris was exorcising demons from little Sally!!” Eyes wide in terror, she rasped, “The noises emitted! My God!!!”

Now, Nines was about to break into laughter, and he pressed his face against the side of the door. Hearing Gavin giggling away was only causing his restraint to fall and break, and he wasn’t sure how much more of this he was supposed to handle.

Eyes squinting, the elderly woman leaned into him, and she whispered, “If I were you, Nines, I would call a priest first thing in the morning and try to sage the entire place!! You may have a poltergeist!!”

Jaw dropping, Nines croaked, “Oh…I just—”

“You poor dear,” the Scottish woman patted him on the shoulder, and she took a few steps back from the door. “It’s difficult to understand, I know, but I’m sure you’ll make the right choice, Nines!!”

Nodding, he stated, “Err, right…thank you, Ms. Baker…” He nearly jumped in shock when a pillow knocked into his ass.

_Damn you, Gavin._

Waving at him, his elderly, widowed neighbor bid him a goodnight, and she was on her way. The moment Nines closed the apartment door and locked it after himself, he tore back into the bedroom. Jeans falling down in a hurry, he pushed falling bits of his mohawk out of his eyes while shaking his head at Gavin. His husband was wrapped in the sheets, but a naughty grin was plastered over his face.

“Sooo,” Gavin purred insatiably, “what did she say?”

Rolling his eyes, Nines knelt on the bed. “She said we may have a poltergeist, Gavin…what should we do?”

With a seductive wink, Gavin lay down on his stomach, the curve of his ass bunching up the thin sheets in a delicious way. “I can think of a few things right now, actually.” Gavin’s tone was teasing and wanton as he smoothed one hand down over Nines’ bare chest when the android tugged off his black shirt and tossed it down to the floor.

Eyeing his husband hungrily, Nines swiftly closed the distance between their bodies.

Licking his lips, Gavin sighed a dreamy sigh. “Come to think of it, I swear my house had a poltergeist once when I was about twelve or something…”

Nines grinned a toothy grin, “Oh yeah?”

Wrapping a hand behind his partner’s neck, Gavin pulled Nines on top of himself once more. Eyes closing, he cooed softly, “Oooh, yeah.”


	73. In Memories

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Music in this god damn depressing-as-an-old-man's-chapped-ass chapter is Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow by The Shirelles.  
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cbxxkwBQk_o

It was amazing how one could prepare for harsh, intempestive seasonal storms, final exams at College or University, tests required to enter private academies, or prepare for taking a trip around the world. A great amount of thought went into forming such plans, but if there was one thing all humans lacked, it was how to prepare for grave news. From what Nines had observed, majority of them went through seemingly consistent patterns. First, there was a denial stage, followed by a stage of pure anger and vitriol. While acceptance didn’t come easily, most humans chose to ‘deal’ with the sad news in their own ways, oftentimes indulging in alcohol or drugs to numb the pain as they slipped into trauma, with the likelihood of recadency always looming over their weary heads.

As such, not a single soul seemed to know how to adequately prepare for bad news, and Gavin Reed was certainly no exception to that rule. Nines vicariously learned what shock and unpreparedness meant through Gavin, and it wasn’t a lesson and an experience he would be forgetting anytime soon.

Naturally, it happened on the brightest of days, following the calmest of moments, and it’d eased into their lives without invitation. They’d been washing dishes and cleaning out the cupboards and shelves in the kitchen, when Gavin’s phone rang.

One peek at the bright screen flashing told them both that it was a call from the hospital, and immediately, they both leapt at the phone desperately.

Snatching it up in his hands swiftly, Gavin put the phone against his ear. “Hello?!”

Nines gently stood behind him. “Put it on speaker; I want to talk to them, too.” Any news about Carrie was important, and he braced himself for hopefully good news…

It seemed that this wasn’t the day to receive any, unfortunately.

Shivering nervously, Gavin’s teeth clattered together, but he set the phone down on the counter and listened to one of his mother’s oncologists clearing his throat. This meant…no…this surely didn’t mean…

Closing his eyes, Nines nearly fell back into the counter.

“I’m so sorry, Mr. Reed,” the doctor, already taking the position of the harbinger of bad news, at least had the decency to soften the blow. That didn’t alter the fact that it would fucking hurt worse than anything in the entire world…

The silence was far too much, and far too grating. The doctor uncomfortably swallowed, cleared his throat, and shifted on the other end of the line before he weakly murmured in defeat, “I’m afraid there was nothing more we could do for your mother, Mr. Reed.” The man on the phone stated in a crestfallen, plangorous manner, “I’m sorry for your loss, but please know that she passed away as painlessly as possible.”

Upon hearing such an asinine, idiotic statement, Nines blew up. Crouching over the phone, he screamed into the speaker, “You can’t be _that_ fucking insane _and_ dumb to utter that? Can you?!”

“Who?? Who’s this?!”

Ignoring what the oncologist was asking, Nines pushed on, blinded by his own anger, deeply rooted in the pit of his stomach. “_Painlessly_?!” he repeated the man’s words. “How about we set you on a bed, make it so that you’re loaded with morphine all day and night, cough your lungs out, vomit blood, and are reduced to at least half of your own damn body weight!!”

“Nines!!” Gavin shrieked, crumbling down to his knees as he hid his face in his hands.

“PAINLESS, MY FUCKING ASS!!” With this last bit roared mightily for the world to hear, Nines ended the call and tended to Gavin. He discovered-to his sorrow-Gavin wasn’t weeping, but he was rocking back and forth on his knees, tugging at his hair while whispering to himself. It was all jumbled nonsense, but that didn’t matter; Gavin’s spirit was moments away from utter decimation.

Wrapping his arms around his partner, Nines buried the tip of his nose in Gavin’s clean hair. Awash with vicarious sadness, Nines closed his eyes as he steadied Gavin’s rocking body. “Shh,” he murmured against his ear, “I know this hurts; I can understand that, and I know it’s the accumulation of everything else we’re going through that makes it worse. Like pouring salt on a abscessed gash. But there’s a rich history of overreaction with this kind of thing, and it actually exacerbates your pain as well as spreading it to others. The reaction is similar to self-harm in an odd, paradoxical way. If that’s the right phrase for it.”

What was he even saying?! This wasn’t even a part of the grieving support process!! Why had he slipped into RK900 ‘cold mode’ instead of delivering warmth, human empathy, and patience unto his partner?!

Attempting it again, he softly cooed, “Gavin, I can’t promise you that everything’s going to be okay, but—”

“I w-want her to have a p-proper funeral.” Gavin’s raw, cutting remark threw him off-track entirely. Frozen, Nines could only gape like a fish out of water upon realizing how easily his lover had curtailed around his social gaffe, but Gavin wasn’t through, yet. “I was never there for my dad’s funeral, but that’s fine; I was never close with the guy.” The veins in his eyeballs were prominent, but he still wasn’t crying.

Bewildered beyond his own tangential realization, Nines knew what Gavin was trying to do. _He wants to keep his composure. He doesn’t want me to see him break down because he attributes that as a sign of weakness…Gavin Reed, what vile ordeal did you suffer through that caused you to push everyone away while you suffocated in your own demons and ghosts? _

Adamantly wanting to be the protective, nurturing lover, Nines approached Gavin steadily and calmly. Rationally, he declaimed, “Gavin, this was unexpected for us both; you need to take time to grieve properly, otherwise, you’ll relapse and hurt yourself, I fear.”

Weakly trembling, Gavin’s eyes snapped shut. Holding his head in both hands for a second, he quickly took to wringing his quivering limbs. Like a house of cards on the verge of a collapse, he painfully wept, “It…I d-didn’t even g-get to s-see her one last t-time!” Clamping a hand over his stomach, he vomited out in a messy garble, “It was too s-soon! It’s n-not fair!”

“Nothing in this world is fair,” Nines pushed out bitterly. “We need to take time; you’re unwell.”

“I’m going to be there for my mom’s funeral, so help me,” Gavin announced his promise, the steel edge in his tone never faltering. “She raised me, and she was the closest person to me.”

Bending his head obediently, Nines calmly proclaimed, “That’s fine, Gavin. I’ll be here to help you in whatever way you need.”

There was no way to argue with Gavin. Headstrong as he insisted upon remaining, Nines knew that pushing him would only cause greater damage and a more violent backlash. As much as he detested going along with this, it was a far better option than losing Gavin.

The lugubrious detective wiped his eyes quickly, flicking the tears away before they even came into existence. “Thank you…th-thank you.”

He didn’t need any thanking or tangential gratitude; he found that the plenitude feeling of Gavin’s arms around his body was more than enough.

*x*x*x*x*x*

Nines was willing to accept the fact that each and every individual grieved differently in their own unique way. However, he had a difficult time accepting the fact that Gavin-while claiming his mother had been the closest person to him-hadn’t even shed a single tear in her loss. It was quite bizarre, but Nines chose not to hassle his partner over it. There were much bigger things in the picture for them _both_, and that’s what he chose to concentrate on.

According to Carrie’s own will, she stated that she wished to be buried next to her own parents. Gavin followed through with her desire, locating the cemetery in a few days after the woman passed away. While the weather behaved much like early spring weather, the rain wasn’t helping the mood.

One of Carrie’s favorite songs played, as per her request at her funeral.

_Tonight, you’re mine completely,_

_You give your love so sweetly,_

_Tonight, the light of love is in your eyes,_

_But will you love me tomorrow?_

The haunting tune fluttered and rose past everyone’s ears, the incessant beating of the harsh rain and downpour almost drowning it out until it sounded as though the lyrics and music was playing and emanating from beyond the grave.

_Is this a lasting treasure,_

_Or just a moment’s pleasure?_

_Can I believe the magic of your sighs?_

_Will you still love me tomorrow?_

Gavin’s relatives and a few friends and co-workers from the DPD all showed up to the funeral. Dressed like a murder of crows, they all stood about in black masses, heads hanging down as they held their umbrellas tightly in their hands. Birds cawed in the swaying trees towering darkly against the sky. The tombstones, pale and grey, clearly labeled Carrie Moser’s parents names, and she had been buried right before them both. Before her casket had been lowered into the earth, however, Gavin was handed a white envelope with a red seal.

_Tonight, with words unspoken,_

_You say that I’m the only one,_

_But will my heart be broken,_

_When the night meets the morning sun?_

Curiously, though the detective tried opening it up, his aunt and her wife shook their heads at him in silent, gentle opposition.

“Save it for later, Gavin,” they advised carefully, and Gavin listened. In no time at all, the envelope was forgotten. In its place of priorities and importance, Gavin and Nines tried to pay off the last few bills for the month, the car insurance, and kept to themselves at work in the hopes that their tasks would help them forget everything.

It was a bleak, dreary spring, and it’d never ceased raining.

_I’d like to know that your love,_

_Is love I can be sure of,_

_So tell me now, and I won’t ask again,_

_Will you still love me tomorrow?_

While Nines found he liked the rain, Gavin didn’t. Maybe that could’ve been one isolated incident due to the grieving process. Sure, he was willing to handle that and tolerate it. Only, it didn’t seem to be the case. Anything Nines enjoyed and cherished, Gavin soon grew to loathe and despise. They couldn’t ever seem to agree on anything, and though Nines tried mediating things, that resulted in Gavin often lashing out at his husband for no reason other than misplaced anger. Perhaps it was a part of suffering the loss of his mother and now essentially being an orphan, but Nines found it difficult to put up with. After days of arguing and shrieking back and forth, Nines decided they needed a change of scenery.

He suggested for them to revisit the special children’s home he often volunteered at. Perhaps it would be the best thing for Gavin; occupy his mind and time with something while also giving the other man the opportunity to learn…to finally be open to understanding how he felt, and what he suffered through on almost an illimitable, daily basis.

Not needing to be coaxed a lot, Gavin no longer put up a contumacious attitude. However, he did throw a rather caustic sneer in Nines’ way as they drove towards the large children’s home. Nines didn’t mind it. The worst thing he knew he could do was leave Gavin to himself in a cloistered home where his thoughts and worries would no doubt pester and haunt him all day long. They’d just still been dealing with the loss of his mother, after all, and before Gavin could turn to the bottle again for ‘self-medication’ purposes, Nines pulled him out of the house and into a new scene.

By the time they’d entered the large residence filled with children, Nines noticed a rather decorous change about the place. The home was tidier than he’d expected. Shocking, given how the teens and younger children weren’t always supposed to do the cleaning on their own. It seemed as if they were perhaps waiting for a guest…

With his spouse at his side, Nines smiled amicably as Marta welcomed them in, dressed in a fashionable, debonair red and gold trimmed dress with salamander designs strewn about. A few children had volunteered to clean the windows, and since they did quite a good job, the effulgent rays of the sunshine poured in throughout the home generously.

Basking in the munificent treatment they were given, Nines discouraged Marta from being far too obsequious.

“We’re only here for a chat, Marta,” he stated plainly while Gavin sat next to two young boys in front of the living room TV. They were playing some kind of a wrestling video game, and soon, Gavin grew bored of it and made his way back into the drawing room next to the library of the home. Seating himself next to Nines, he appeared visibly calmer, more relaxed, and the knot in his eyebrows had disappeared.

Fussing over them in a fulsome manner, Marta offered Gavin a cup of tea, and as he took it in both hands while staring away at random objects in the room, he eventually proclaimed in distaste, “It’s funny, I’m married to this guy here next to me, and I _still_ don’t know a lot of important stuff about him.”

Though not a nebulous or irksome comment in and of itself, Nines still retreated and deflated as he sat staring between Marta and Gavin. Trying not to resort to mendacious and meretricious tactics of avoidance, Nines crossed a long leg over the other as he inquired, “What specifically do you wish to know?”

Immediately, Gavin turned to him, and in sheer levels of desperation, he rasped while on the edge of his seat, “Why do you hate mirrors, Nines? Huh?! What happened to you that made you turn into such a weirdo, and what was so bad that is causing you as much pain as you’re trying to hide?!”

Setting her own cup down on the surface of an old table next to her rocking chair, Marta straightened her long braid over her right shoulder. Folding her hands in her lap, she sighed softly, “I think Nines himself should indeed answer to that, but mirrors have been known in some cultures to reflect what we hide, and what demons lie beneath the surface of our ego. It can highlight the soul, and the most uncomfortable parts of ourselves.”

With a curt nod thrown in Gavin’s way, Nines held up a hand slowly. “I…can understand the desire to want to know.”

“I’d say it’s my right,” Gavin quickly interrupted, and Nines only offered a tiny, magnetic smile.

Yes, he did deserve to know. Would this bring them closer, however? Or would it tear them apart? Could two individuals _really _come together in the worst of times? Would they be able to weather all the storms thrown their way? Could pain, turmoil, anguish, suffering, and absolute misery truly be a topic or a thing they could bond over?

….

Nines seriously found himself hoping so. He only yearned to be closer to Gavin lately, and this was going to be a huge step in that direction. This was the path, and he needed to walk along the road to perdition hand-in-hand with Gavin.

Feeling Marta’s hubristic eyes swarming over him, Nines only gazed at Gavin. He was addressing this man, now, and he was going to tell him everything and anything he wanted to hear and to know. Holding all the respect and dignity in the world for Gavin, Nines’ impavid tongue darted forth, wet his lips, and his eyes were quite luminously shining forth against the black and grey smoky eyeshadow and eyeliner.

He couldn’t believe he was going to take a trip down memory lane, but as long as Gavin was there next to him, holding his hand, perhaps he could bear the pain and suffering one last time.

*x*x*x*x*x*

_He’d been introduced to Detective Gavin Reed before, and their first collaboration had failed miserably. Attitude, moody rebellion, petulance, recalcitrant behavior; all were what made up the ‘mess’ of a human being Gavin Reed was. They’d clashed once before, the verbal dispute eventually spiraling out of control due to differences of opinion. It’d abruptly ended when before the irate, explosive detective could unleash a punch aimed for his nose, Captain Fowler cut in quickly to stop them both. _

_Failure one: Never bicker with humans. _

_He’d logged and reported the skirmish as the first failure, and though extra cautious not to have a ‘repeat incident’, a few more cases were persistently and unexpectedly thrown at him, anyway. _

_For the first time in his existence, he registered and noted feeling stressed. Stress wasn’t productive. It had to simply go. Like a virus, he sought to rid himself of it…but how? All he’d known prior to his introduction to the short-tempered Gavin Reed had been work, obeying commands, completing tasks as quickly and efficiently as possible…_

_Connor informed him that this could still be done. There was a solution to ridding himself of his woes and stress, after all. A youth home for orphaned and troubled kids was always seeking aid from new volunteers. _

_Finally, after applying in a hurry, he’d been recruited and handed a new task. Though at first volunteering on a part-time basis, soon, the children and teenagers grew quite fond of him and enjoyed having him around. Demanding that he come see them more regularly, Marta soon provided him with extra volunteer hours. He was so happy and grateful; he’d found a new purpose, and now that he was busy with volunteering, he hardly ever cared enough to argue with Gavin Reed. _

_It truly had been the perfect situation._

_Bonding with all the children equally, he’d spent most of his days and hours learning about them enough to call them his friends. However, he knew he was slowly becoming more drawn to one boy in particular. It couldn’t have been helped; the teen was somehow… ‘different’ in quite the mystical, magical way._

_Kenneth Perry was his name. _

_Kenneth was indeed an odd, peculiar fourteen-year-old boy. Always importunately insisting on shaving his head even though he once had beautiful, golden, thick locks of hair, the teen didn’t live in the home as a regular occupant. It seemed that one day, Kenneth had simply just walked right in through the front door and made a home for himself there. He’d first noticed just how much of a story those blue-green eyes held after a brief conversation with the bright youth, and Nines found himself always wanting to hear what Kenneth had to say from then on._

_For his age, the teenager was quite mature. Having been abandoned by both his parents at the age of five due to their prolific drug addiction they could never battle and triumph against, young Kenneth had been tossed from house to house, never once finding his ‘true home’. First, his grandparents tried to care for him, but then Kenneth’s aunt and uncle fought for custody and adoption rights. Once granted it by the state, the guardians unfortunately proved that they too weren’t fit to care for the poor child. Viewing Kenneth as nothing more than a regular paycheck from the government, it didn’t take long for the boy to suffer through mistreatment. At the hands of his selfish, monstrous relatives, he’d been underfed, forced into doing chores, and eventually dropped out of grade school due to depression. _

_Upon receiving news that his grandparents passed away a year later, Kenneth’s uncle and aunt suddenly increased the level of abuse at home. Blaming everything and all the misfortune on their nephew, the adults had soon turned brutally violent. When the beatings and physical assault became too much to tolerate, Kenneth ran away. Taking it upon himself to find odd jobs while required to still attend school, the young boy worked and matured years beyond the childhood he’d been owed and deserved, but never seemed to get. He never got it back; it was already long stolen from him._

_Despite finding an adequate foster home sometime later, Kenneth felt he still didn’t belong anywhere. When he turned fourteen, he began dropping by Marta’s home for wayward and abandoned youth. Though fearful and shy at first, within a week, Kenneth fit right in with the others. This seemed to be the only place he could find like-minded friends, and in no time at all, he would drop in every day after school. Marta’s door was always open to him, and Kenneth grew to love and cherish her more than his foster mother. _

_Though still trapped in his own shell from time to time, Kenneth soon developed a rather unique, special relationship with Nines more so than any other child in the home._

_They found they could talk about anything, and so they did. Unlimited topics often kept them both up well into dawn whispering and laughing openly like two friends recently united. The days flew by too quickly, and Nines found himself sometimes wanting to leave work early just to chat with Kenneth. It seemed they were both truly happy as they connected over shared activities and common interests. One of those common interests learned one day took Nines by complete shock, however…_

_“I think I’m gay,” Kenneth randomly announced one warm summer night as they sat side-by-side on the swing of the front porch. _

_When Nines took to only listening in silence, Kenneth giggled lightly, suddenly years so young and innocent. “There’s a guy in my writing class, and at first, I started thinking I was only curious about him because he’s soooo weird!!”_

_Keeping a tiny smile on his face, he devoted all his attention to the teen by his side._

_“I keep thinking about him,” came the next raw, honest confession. “Day and night, in my dreams, and when I’m awake, he’s always in my head, Nines…it tingles down here…” Finishing his ardent, passionate statement by placing a hand on his chest where his heart was located, he sighed softly. _

_Placing a hand on his own chest, then, Nines suddenly realized something…this was precisely what he’d been feeling and experiencing in regard to James…every little thing Kenneth described was 100% identical to what he’d been going through, himself. Understanding his own proclivities and preferences was akin to being reborn, for Nines. _

_Without even thinking, he whispered desperately, “I think I’m gay, too…” Yes, looking at Kenneth’s coruscating eyes beaming like scintillating, illecebrous stars when he’d mentioned having feelings for another boy was almost akin to how brightly his own eyes shone when he gazed into the mirror and got lost in thoughts about James._

_Strangely, even though James had been at the center of his world, Nines knew that in the past, whenever he’d gazed at a man and a woman, he’d always leaned more towards men. He was quite fond of looking at them, but he’d never been sure of the reason why before. He’d supposed that it was just a natural curiosity, but when his deviancy kicked in, he started looking longer and deeper at men, and then thoughts of touching them, undressing them, and embracing them became far too common. He’d never entertained a single notion of the sort with a woman, and he couldn’t even try if he wished. Nines enjoyed friendships with women, he enjoyed bonding with them socially, but whenever a woman got closer, he found them slightly repulsive. _

_Their perfume was too much for his senses, their makeup too thick and heavy, their stature too small, dainty, bones frail, fragile…but a man? He loved the way men moved, the way they spoke, the way they were built, and he loved the fact that he could love a man, now. _

_He loved James, just as Kenneth loved the boy in his class!_

_Yes, they shared another thing in common, but what Nines valued more was the fact that Kenneth Perry had helped him learn about a significant part of himself that had always been unknown to him, previously._

_\------------------_

_Sometimes, surprises came in great forms. Sometimes, they came in a different-unexpectedly unique and not entirely unwelcome manner. Other times, surprises were quite disgusting. Never would he have been able to handle the life-altering surprise he was due to receive at house number 44 on Burns Street. Not in a thousand years had he ever been expecting such a nasty surprise._

_Smoke wafted annoyingly in his field of vision, clouding and mucking it up nicely. “Get your cigarette out of my face, Detective.”_

_Business much like usual, another day working for the DPD. Gavin Reed was extra annoying and childish, today, but Nines wasn’t going to let that get in the way of his tasks. While his eyes scoured over every inch of the property, Gavin swayed from side to side, taking his time until he finished decided it was time for a ‘smoke break’. _

_“You really feel so sure about asking this guy the question you wanna ask?”_

_Eyeing Detective Gavin Reed’s burning cigarette clenched between his index and middle finger, Nines only nodded. “It will help determine the level of danger, as well as offer alternatives for de-escalation.” _

_Staring straight at the house practically blocking out the golden sun, the other man shook his head. “That’s not a very wise idea, man.”_

_Having had enough of the incompetent human he was yet again forced to work with, Nines barked out in a clipped manner, “I’m the one leading the operation now, Detective Reed, and that means I reserve the right to do what I see fit.”_

_Frowning, Gavin hissed, “But we don’t—”_

_“I don’t recall asking your opinion, Detective.”_

_Not yet letting go, Gavin stomped closer to him. “But we don’t know what could trigger this asshole!” The argued point fired through, “ANYTHING could set him off, and you’re willin’ to fuck around with that?!?”_

_Scowling upon hearing such a wild notion, Nines ignored his co-worker. They’d already wasted far too much time, and he wasn’t here to spar with Gavin. Now steadily approaching the front lawn of the home once again, Nines erased all answers for Gavin’s questions from his system. He refused to talk to him, and he wasn’t going to allow the human to distract him with truculent and unwelcome epitimesis._

_While he ignored the petulant man’s hisses at his turned back, the RK900 boldly cried out at Henry, “What’s going on, Henry?”_

_A loud roar broke through the sound barrier. “What’s it look like, freak?!?”_

_Resistance was guaranteed. He would have to try another way to get to the truth._

_Lowering his gaze to the main level of the house, he pushed out, “Work’s going well, then?”_

_“I fuckin’ quit!!” Henry answered in a scream that made a few officers looming far back grip their weapons tightly. “There’s no point in going, anymore,” Henry finished somberly, pacing in front of the windows while tugging at his hair. _

_But was work really the issue, here? Was it the trigger??_

_Cautiously approaching the kitchen window, Nines inquired, “Is this about money, Henry?” Head tilted oddly, he falsely promised, “I can ask one of my men here to get you some—”_

_“NO!” The hostile man roared his_ _bumptious interruption, “I-I w-won’t be able to…FUCK!! None of it m-m-matters anymore!!”_

_“Why do you say that?” Voice and facial expression calm and neutral, Nines added, taking one step at a time, “You can get yourself out of this, Henry; put the gun down, and let your family go.”_

_Kicking something by his feet violently, Henry argued, “I-I’m gonna go t-to jail!!”_

_Eyebrows rose, but Nines calmly announced, “I may be able to cut you a deal if you release your family.” Behind him, Gavin shifted, tugging uncomfortably at his bullet-proof vest. He was far too nervous…_

_Needing to push for the mother and her children’s safety, Nines exclaimed loudly, “Henry!! They have nothing to do with this!! Your daughters are innocent!!”_

_They’d just then reached the breaking point. _

_Suddenly, the man pressed his distraught face right up against the window. Fearful eyes bore directly into Nines’, taking the calm, reserved android off-guard. _

_Trying not to make too many quick motions, Nines only took one step closer. _

_Teeth biting and clamping down on his lower lip, Henry wept, “I know my g-girls are innocent…th-that’s why I did what I had to do, and that’s why I’m d-doing this right now!!” Throwing his head back, he emitted a desperate wail as he shouted, “They will now be accepted into Heaven, and our Father will show them mercy for their sins!!”_

_Alarm bells going off in his head and all throughout his system caused Nines to approach more closely while he softly asked, “What have you done, Henry? What did you do?” Suddenly, this no longer felt like a cut and dry case…fear lurked everywhere, but so did anticipation._

_A hand pulled at his own hair, and another waved the gun around. Letting out a childlike, lost cry, Henry was unable to prevent his tears from spilling forth. “I k-killed him,” he confessed suddenly. “I h-had to!! Th-the little homo went to school w-w-with m-my g-g-girls, and he w-would’ve influenced th-them to be q-q-queers, too!! He was g-g-gonna teach them wrong and send them off straight to burn in the fires of hell!!”_

_Though the distance between his own body and the house had not yet disappeared, Nines approached while desperately inquiring, “Who’re you talking about, Henry?” He couldn’t understand why, but he really was starting to feel incredibly sick. A significant part of himself didn’t want to listen to whatever it was that Henry had to say anymore._

_A little girl’s voice sobbed brokenly, “Daddy!! P-please don’t hurt us!!”_

_Hot tears rolling down his cheeks, Henry gasped, “Oh g-god, help me…f-f-forgive me!!”_

_The tension and torpor had grown to be far too much. Unable to take it, Nines threw himself at the window. While his colleagues cried and roared at him to get away, Nines boldly reached through the bits of the glass that were already badly cracked. The minor barrier came down, and almost simultaneously, Henry’s and Nines’ hands clasped down over each other._

_Henry was so up close, now. Panting in his face, the human was riddled with terror. Nines’ jaw hung wide open. Now that he was pressed against glass and brick, there was nothing but fear coursing through his system. The clouds above moved, making the atmosphere darker while blue eyes bore into brown ones as equally terrified._

_Voice barely hovering above a whisper, Nines hissed, “Who have you killed, Henry…” It didn’t even come out like a question._

_Not even blinking, the man trembled, swallowed, and the sound of it was as loud as fire crackling in a peaceful forest at night. “I didn’t know his name, but he always had a shaved head, and ocean-colored eyes…” Ending it with a strained sob, Henry weakly admitted, “H-he was fourteen, he knew my g-girls, and so I f-followed him one d-day after he left a group home.”_

_Clutching harder and tighter at Henry was all he could do. “What happened, after?”_

_Pink eyes were fixed on his, and Henry wheezed, “I o-offered him a ride, and wh-when he approached my c-car, I sh-shot him in the chest t-t-twice and then ran!!”_

_Kenneth…dear God…he was referring to Kenneth Perry. _

_Before he lost all control, Nines stared at Henry’s gun. Scanning the single drop of blood still sitting and dry on the nozzle of the gun, to his absolute horror, Nines found that it was indeed Kenneth Perry’s blood type._

_No…no…_

_Screaming from the top of his vocal bio-component box, Nines tried yanking Henry right out through his window. As crazy and as foolish as this was, he still found he no longer cared. He’d failed Kenneth; he’d failed in his sworn duties to always help preserve innocent lives._

_Nothing mattered anymore. He’d lost. _

_Angrily lost in their tug of war, Henry pushed and struggled vigorously. “Let go!!” he demanded thickly in a ghastly growl. “I want a car so I can get out of here!!”_

_Only unleashing a stream of incoherent growls, roars, and screams, Nines shook the gauche, nefandous man back and forth by his shirt collar. In his wild, tormented state, he remembered all the joyous times he’d shared with Kenneth, the laughter, and Kenneth’s warm friendship…it was all gone…_

_He never saw Henry raising the gun and aiming it for his forehead…_

_“FUCK OFF!!!” _

_Something zipped through the air just when the armed man pressed a finger on the trigger of his firearm. Nines was unable to see it since it happened so quickly. A shadowy figure had passed directly between his face and the window. One minute, Henry was firing the gun, and then the next minute, time froze._

_With a loud thud, someone crashed down to the floor. Smoke rose from the gun, and as Henry and Nines both stared at each other in raw fear and shock, a soft groan came from the ground. _

_Craning his head down, Nines wheezed, “Detective?! Detective Reed?!?”_

_Gavin Reed had in fact leapt before the gun right in the nick of time. Nines could’ve been shot if it hadn’t been for the courageous efforts of Detective Reed. The man had pranced towards the window and tearing up on his feet while gliding past Nines, he’d made a good shield before the deadly bullet could’ve buried itself into Nines’ forehead. _

_Thankfully, the bullet-proof vest had saved two lives, that day, and Henry soon surrendered after the gun went off. He didn’t want to steal more lives, and as he suffered a total mental breakdown while being dragged off and handcuffed, Nines couldn’t help but sneer at him while he faced his own dark thoughts._

_For once, he was wishing that someone would end up dying in the worst possible ways. Yes, a torture beyond imagination was what Henry DaSilva deserved, but probably wouldn’t get. Due to his declining mental health, it was soon discovered that Henry suffered from_ _delusions of entheomania, and paranoid schizophrenia that had been gradually worsening since he’d turned thirty. The most he would receive was a sentence where he would spend the rest of his life locked away in a mental health facility. _

_Would there ever be justice for Kenneth Perry? Perhaps not, and perhaps the image of the young life so innocent and pure that had been snatched away so coldly and unjustly from the world would forever haunt Nines anytime he even so much as walked past a mirror. _

_He knew it had, and though Kenneth Perry was resting in what Nines assumed and foolishly hoped was ‘another world’, there were some ties and pieces of the young teenager that still existed within the android as he walked the Earth silently. Kenneth Perry forever would stay by his side, the only bridge and connection between his world and Nines’ being that of a cold, smooth surface of a mirror._

_Since the day he learned of Kenneth Perry’s unfortunate demise, he’d always seen the ghostly face of a child next to his own reflection. Sometimes he’d welcomed it, sometimes he hadn’t. But as the years grew by, Kenneth grew angrier and angrier, and Nines grew more and more fearful. _

_Perhaps God would be merciful in his forgiveness, but Nines would never forgive himself._


	74. Trench Coats and Cigarettes

They never invariably discussed the topic of mirrors again. There was nothing left to say, really. Gavin and Nines had both revisited that horrific nightmarish experience, and while Nines knew his lover had no idea about Kenneth Perry before, he didn’t appear to want to discuss it beyond what had been said. Rightfully so; they’d both suffered a significant loss, so it seemed. To acknowledge the existence and memory of the trauma would only strengthen the intensity and grip it held over them. Nines and Gavin didn’t want to give it credence and plenipotence.

However, at least for Nines, talking about it was somehow…therapeutic and cathartic…it seemed to have been what he’d needed all along, and for the first time in many long, dark, cold months, the luculent android felt freer than ever before. Talking seemed to really help, and it brought back lucidity for Nines. While he was still disheartened with the idea of gazing into a mirror and seeing his failures glaring back soundly at himself, it was easier to tolerate now that he’d shared everything with someone he considered both a true friend, and a close lover.

They still weren’t entirely ‘free’, however. Although pleased with the recent improvements, Nines felt they both lacked in other areas and could’ve worked on these issues, together. 

Communication was still an on-going battle, so it seemed. Gavin was always insisting upon hiding and buying a lot, starting from the letter Carrie had left behind for him. As such, he hadn’t even bothered to pry open the envelope or to even allow for Nines to talk about it. Whenever the subject had been brought up, Gavin shut down and wouldn’t speak. Respectfully understanding that Gavin wasn’t ready yet to talk about the letter, he backed off and instead focused on other activities that would not only take Gavin’s mind off his burdens but would also bring them closer together as partners. 

They soon took up a regular exercise regime, working out together in the gym when it was too cold for Gavin to go out, and then they took to jogs and running outside when most of March’s unpredictable, harsh weather changes came to a close. Aside from exercising together, the made time for each other at work during breaks, went out for lunch, and even planned new things together. 

One of those things happened to be redecorating Nines’ apartment for spring and summer. Since it was Gavin’s idea, and since he’d brought it up first, Nines allowed it. He really wanted to give Gavin back a semblance of control, especially after he’d suffered through the loss of his mother. No one ever asked for these things to happen in their life, and as such, he felt he owed it to his lover to try and do something that would benefit Gavin in terms of having a sense of control regained and refreshed.

“I want to start with giving the walls a new color,” he openly stated one morning, and Nines genuinely felt he agreed. 

Smiling warmly, he said, “The walls are plain and boring to look at, huh?”

“Totally,” Gavin concluded, and within a day at the most, they settled on grey as a color of choice for the entire living room. 

Purchasing two cans, they later moved and covered all the furniture out of the way, and then took to painting together one Saturday morning bright and early. The golden rays of the sun streaming in through the wide-open windows lit their way nicely. With fresh, dewy air billowing into the apartment, the toxic scent of the paint was soon filtered out, thankfully. 

A few times, Gavin had some difficulty with his roller for spreading and applying paint over the higher portions of the wall. Due to his shorter height, he’d stood himself on a chair, but when his arms grew exhausted from holding the roller brush up constantly, Nines stepped in to help him. Not removing the roller from of his husband’s hands, Nines remained at Gavin’s side while only guiding his hand motions by gripping the end of the handle of the roller. Together, they moved the brush up and down in smooth patterns thanks to the RK900’s precision and well-organized movement. The layers of paint coated and spread along the walls very nicely and evenly, and they hadn’t even missed one spot. 

The last few hours had passed much like that, with Nines speaking to his alluring lover in gentle, guiding ways, and in turn, Gavin followed the instructions well enough to complete the job.

Before the sunset, Nines and Gavin were able to admire their completed project. A thick coat of grey was now the living room, and they were able to put all the items back into place. The apartment looked much better, fresher, and livelier in spite of the grey tinge to the walls. 

After quite a sensual shower on Sunday morning, Gavin and Nines quickly discovered that all the bleach that had once glazed Gavin’s hair was practically completely gone, and more interestingly, Nines found plenty of new grey roots spread throughout Gavin’s forest of hair. 

The android had been in the process of combing through his lover’s clean hair when the white roots waved before his eyes. Thinking he’d been imagining it at first, Nines zoned in on it, and when he ran his fingers through one section of Gavin’s thick mass of hair, he saw the grey roots still stubbornly there. 

Frowning at them, he selected one from the bundle, and he quickly plucked it right out of Gavin’s scalp. 

“Yeouch!! Nines!!” The unsuspecting detective screamed, “The fuck’s gotten into you?!” Throwing his partner an angry glare while rubbing the spot Nines had torn out the strand from, he inched back in case the android chose to do it again. 

Presenting the hair strand before Gavin’s displeased eyes, Nines gasped, “You’ve got a ton of white hair, Gavin.” 

Blushing, the detective nodded somewhat dejectedly. “Yeah, I’ve seen them before, too.” 

Still examining the strand, Nines determined that it’d been growing in for at least a complete month. 

While he studied it with clear fascination brewing in his eyes, Gavin gingerly asked, “It’s...n-not a bad thing, is it?” Almost hesitantly, he added, “I-if you d-don't like it, I’ll dye my hair!!”

Shaking his head while a tiny smile of approval crept along his face, Nines sighed, “It’s sick!!” Quickly, he expounded, “I mean in a cool way!”

Gavin’s jaw fell open. “You m-mean, you actually _like_ it??”

“Of course!” Nines answered honestly. “Wish I could grow white hair.”

“You could set it that way with your features so we can match,” Gavin blurted out almost innocently, and that was precisely when Nines put the hair strand down so he could look intently at his lover instead. 

He hated to admit it, but Gavin really had been putting forth quite an effort to lose his own sense of style, and instead, he’d adopted one identical to Nines’. His clothes had changed, first. Hunting down and selecting a wardrobe that reflected a punk fashion more so than goth, Gavin had afterwards thrown out any clothes of his that were in lighter colors. Next, as Nines scanned the inner contents of his partner’s dressers and drawers, he found that the detective had stocked up and stacked for himself plenty of odd chains, necklaces, bands, and other jewelry much like Nines’. What terrified Nines the most was that he’d once passed by Gavin, and as he accidentally stared over his shoulder down at his phone, he saw that his lover was even looking into the possibility of getting himself a tattoo, also.

Mirrors…mimics…

Trying to ensure that his approach was calm, gentle, and his face also reflected that emotion, Nines loomed over Gavin, placing a hand over his right cheekbone. “Gavin,” he began in a coo of a tone that exhibited his uxorious nature. “You don’t need to change, and I don’t, either. I like you just as you are, and I’m sure the feeling is mutual.”

Worrying his slightly dry lower lip, Gavin whispered, “Yeah, but isn’t white hair…I mean…aren’t I gonna look weird?”

Thumb stroking the smoothness of the freshly-shaven cheek, Nines purred, “You won’t look weird…” Eyes gleaming with mild seduction, then, he suggested, “If you really want to please me, you may want to consider growing out the white.”

Leaning back, Gavin croaked, “Really?! Let…let it _all_ grow out?!”

“Mhm,” Nines hummed deeply. “It’d be a nice contrast…your white,” he flicked his fingers and allowed them to trail through the specific areas, “…and my black. Wouldn’t it be lovely that way?”

Knowing very well it would specifically encourage and support his partner, Nines wrapped an arm around Gavin as he whispered to him, “Think of it as turning over a new leaf; your looks, as well as your life.”

“My life?” Gavin repeated cautiously. “What do you mean?”

Fingers constantly playing with the soft, shiny strands of his partner’s dark brown locks, Nines explained, “You’re rising above one level of fear.” Motioning at Gavin’s hair, he expounded as he tried remaining luculent and sagacious, “You aren’t afraid of aging, and you have your hair to show for it.”

His words lit Gavin’s eyes brightly, causing the detective to huff and very lightly and playfully push the RK900 away. Rubbing his cheeks where Nines had touched him, Gavin hissed, “Aging sucks, not gonna lie, but you’re right; I’m not really scared of it anymore.”

Nodding, Nines suggested, “Then stop fearing the next step towards setting yourself free, Gavin.” When he waited for a few moments in hopes that Gavin would catch on, yet the other man showed no signs of it, the android smiled, once again patient as ever. “Elijah,” he spoke out the name softly. “You should think about contacting him so we can finally—”

Turning away swiftly, his partner spat, “No, Nines.”

Like a balloon, Nines deflated. A sullen, defeated look was instantly on his face. “Why not, Gavin?” What was wrong with this idea? The last time he’d checked, this was the one and only final step towards landing their freedom as a couple. Didn’t Gavin want to overcome this hurdle?

Fists clenching and unclenching, Gavin-with his back turned to Nines-only hissed, “Stay out of it; it’s _my_ family business.”

Wounded, Nines gasped, “Am I not family?” This indeed was a first. He’d thought they had gotten closer in the last few weeks. Why was Gavin behaving in such an odd way?? What had he done wrong?

Reaching out to touch the human, Nines gently asked, “Do you want to talk about it?”

Snatching his shoulder away from Nines’ grasp, Gavin took a step away as he answered dryly and shortly, “This is pathetic, Nines.” Turning back around so they could face each other, he sneered and narrowed his eyes at Nines, then looked at him once up and down almost judgmentally. “Why should I have to be the one to bring everything up? Huh?”

Confused and baffled so much that he was rendered incapable of directly answering, it nearly took another two minutes before Nines picked his jaw up off the floor. Fixing Gavin with a glare, he retorted, “I can’t read your mind, Gavin. If you want to talk, then talk. I was just suggesting something for your _own_ good.”

“So you only have suggestions?” the shorter male snipped out impatiently. “There’s _nothing_ else stirring in that black, black thing you call a heart?”

Shaking his head at such an insult, Nines replied petulantly, “You’re one to talk.”

Gesturing at his chest, Gavin cried, “I _am_ human!”

Eyes wide as he let out a sarcastic gasp as if hearing this news for the first time ever, Nines retorted saucily, “I’m an android! Nice to meet you!!”

Gavin flipped him off, clearly running out of insults for the moment.

Waving him off, Nines growled, “If you want to waste time, Reed, then by all means, go for it. Makes no difference for me.”

Aggressively stepping around him, Gavin whined out, “You’re a shitty partner, you know that?”

Trying to mask just how deeply Gavin’s words cut through him, Nines puffed himself up so he appeared wider and larger, and he loomed as tall as he could over the other man. Trying to use his height to his full advantage, he morphed his face into a look of sheer disappointment, regret, and mock pity. “Ooooh!” He pouted, then quickly followed it up with a frown, “You said ‘shitty’!”

Retreating out of the bathroom, Gavin held up an accusatory, sharp finger at him. “I’m _not _in the mood for this side of you, Nines!”

As he walked away, Nines only cried out, “Fine! I don’t want to talk right now, anyway!!”

Only a door slamming somewhere down the hall was his response, and it irritated Nines more than their argument had. Oddly, he felt he wasn’t as okay with spending the rest of the night out in the living room as he once thought he’d be, but to save his pride and dignity, he begrudgingly did it anyway.

*x*x*x*x*x*

Tension grew steadily in the apartment. For nearly four rainy days and nights, Gavin and Nines didn’t speak with each other. Gavin ate most of his meals in the bedroom, and Nines hung out in the living room and then would tend to his plants. It was April 3rd already, and the weather forecast had predicted for nothing but rain, cloudy weather, winds, and more rain.

April showers bring may flowers, so they’d laudably said…

Nothing but anger seemed to be growing and piling between the two men, but Nines luckily knew how to avoid arguments before they had a chance to even begin. Not even questioning what Gavin did, where he went, or to whom he talked, the android found that things went easier that way…but he really didn’t like it at all.

The atmosphere had turned languid, far too quiet, dull, dreary, and painful. Nines missed doing things with Gavin. He missed cooking, planning meals, exercising, reading, watching TV, having interesting discussions, joking around, and long hours spent in the tub together. He missed Gavin’s laugh, his smile, the way his eyes squinted, and he even missed the little wrinkles forming in the corners of his lover’s eyes when he laughed too hard. He missed his boisterous, jocular voice bouncing off the walls and ceiling as his nimble fingers slyly crept about Nines’ body. Nines missed the human’s body creating heat and friction at nights when they lay together side by side or sometimes curled up together beneath the sheets, and he even missed the sex and the ability to make love to Gavin.

Silence and detachment were harsh, and Nines hated it, especially when he’d once been so emotionally lucripetous. However, felt this was something quite important. It was more or less something Gavin had the power and control to end. On his word, this could all be over and done with. Gavin held the cards, and Nines was only going to talk if Gavin spoke to him, first.

On April 7th, Nines’ silent wishes were still ignored. At work, Gavin seemed more and more withdrawn. He only chose to work on cases that could be handled alone, or when he had to step up and work on higher priority cases, he often hurried to work on them with Tina Chen or Chris Miller. Nines hardly saw his partner at all, and as he tried stewing about it all by himself, Hank Anderson and Connor appeared to not want to allow him time or space to himself.

Pacing in the Archive Room, Nines soon ceased ‘working’, and began ‘worrying’. He worried about his husband. He’d cohabited long enough with Gavin Reed to know when something was terribly wrong, and Gavin’s behavior over the last few days sent out all the warning signals in the RK900’s system.

A storm was already on the way.

The lights beamed brighter, suddenly. Two pairs of footsteps walked into the Archive Room, and a surprised grunt broke into the still air. Giggling sounded in the crisp air, and Nines recognized it as Connor’s jovial laughter. Hank chuckled deeply along with him, but apparently, whatever Connor had gone and whispered in the older man’s ears soon caused him to guffaw in boisterous laughter.

“Oh, Nines!” came Hank Anderson’s deep voice when he found Nines scowling mightily at him like he wanted to strangle him. “Didn’t think you’d be in here, but it helps cut my work short since I don’t have to enter my password to open the damn door here.”

Right next to him stood Connor, and the RK800 frowned at him while snorting boorishly. “What? Have you forgotten your password?”

“Yeah,” Hank admitted carefully, “so what if I have?”

Squeezing the tip of the older man’s nose, Connor groused childishly, “Haaaank! It’s soooo easy to remember ‘fucking password’!! Come on!!”

Sneering at the two unwanted ‘guests’ accompanying him, Nines growled aggressively, “What’re you two doing here?” Casting a foul look at both his petrified colleagues, he hissed, “You’re not submitting anything for evidence, here, you’re clearly not logging anything, nor are you both actively working on cases anymore.”

Pointing to Hank’s inflamed nostrils while the human sniffed, Connor exclaimed, “We’re just taking a break, and getting some air, Nines! Jeez!” LED light beaming yellow, he scoffed crudely, “What’s the matter with you lately?! Sheesh!!”

Hank elbowed him as he snickered. “I think Gavin’s denying him sex! When my wife did that to me, the dry spells were brutal, man.”

“The air upstairs isn’t good enough?” Nines snorted grossly, ignoring how Connor resumed his annoying giggles. “Oxygen is oxygen!”

Hank quirked a brow. “Something on your mind, dear?”

Fixing Hank with a contemptable, minacious glare, Nines spat acerbically, “No. Get out of here, and take that giggling idiot with you.”

Squawking once he’d been referred to indecorously as an ‘idiot’, Connor gaped, while Hank roared his protest in a booming voice. “We can go where we like, Nines! Who died and made _you_ owner of the fuckin’ place??”

Rudely, Nines threw back aggressively, “You’re walking around doing _nothing._ You’re getting paid to accomplish _nothing_.” Huffing in disgust, he concluded, “As I said, the air is fine upstairs.”

Arguing back, Connor pointed at the ceiling. “Tell that to the perp Officer Chen just brought in who somehow thought it was a smart idea to mask the stench of burning Red Ice and weed by spraying Axe deodorant all over himself!!”

Imagining the foul mix of the odors, Nines hissed, “That’s _really_ the reason you’re both here?”

“Yes!” Connor shrieked, pausing to hand Hank a tissue. “Because of that jackass, half the DPD and bullpen can’t breathe!”

Rolling his blue eyes, Nines sighed painfully, “I’ll go bash his head in; I’m in a ‘generous’ mood.”

Snickering while he fanned himself with his tissue, Hank replied, “Too late for that, Nines.”

“We wanted to do the same,” Connor smiled evilly. “Buuuut it’s honestly too late, now; homeboy already left.”

Not bothering to drag this on any longer, Nines growled, “As you two should be doing as well. Leave me alone.”

Exchanging dry glances, Hank and Connor remained quiet for all of three seconds. Finally, Hank had the courage to step up to Nines’ turned back, slamming a hand down on the center of the RK900’s sturdy, broad frame.

“What’s troublin’ ya, Nines?”

Gazing intently at the floor with enough anger that he could’ve burnt holes in it, Nines seethed, “Nothing, so stay out of my way.”

“Wanna try again?” Hank hounded him, ever so stuck on getting to the bottom of matters, much like he was back when he served as a good Lieutenant. “I bet it has a lot to do with Gavin.”

Throwing a sneer his way, Nines blurted out unrestrained, “I’m divorcing him. My mind’s made up.”

Connor emitted a squeal, eyebrows flying up to his bang, and LED light red. “Waaah?! Why?! You two seemed so happy!!”

Chin jutting forth in a sarcastic motion, Nines chuckled dryly, “Thanks for shipping us, Connor, but I’ve had enough of Gavin’s bullshit and melodramatic angst to last me two lifetimes. I simply refuse to be nothing but a pawn in a grown man’s game while he refuses to get his shit together.”

Before Connor could interrupt with something, Hank pressed a hand against his chest, stopping him from advancing towards Nines. Eyeing the taller android with a small look of disappointment in his eyes, the corners of his lips twitched before he calmly stated, “If that’s what you’re choosing to do, Nines, then we can’t stop you…after all, we can’t make you stay with Gavin, and we certainly can’t force you to leave him, either.”

With a curt nod, Nines expounded, “I just can’t do it anymore. I care about him, and I know he’s upset with me for something I did, but I can’t play 21 Questions with him. I’m tired of it, and if he doesn’t want to come forward and just tell me what he wants, then screw it. I’m done.”

Shrugging as he smiled up towards the ceiling, Hank thoughtfully stated, “You know, Nines, sometimes to achieve greatness, what you do is you have to cut off a little piece of yourself, no matter how much it hurts. You have to do it in order to grow, in order to move on. It takes courage and I admire that, you know?” Face growing stern suddenly, he pointed a finger at the RK900, and he jabbed him in the chest with it as though wielding a deadly weapon.

Snarling, he warned, “But what I _don’t_ admire is bullshit behavior and such garbage attitude that involves a grown couple actin’ and bickerin’ like a bunch of damn kids!!”

Jaw falling open, Nines rasped, “I’d never—”

“You _are_!” Connor argued with profound vigor. “Stop saying you don’t!”

“Gavin’s life and your life aren’t revolving doors, Nines,” Hank explained, trying to simmer down from the algetic bickering as he visibly shook. “Stop making mistakes than a damn twenty-one-year-old makes and sit together to _talk_!” Waving his arms expansively about, he cried, “Avoidin’ each other, breakin’ up, givin’ each other the damn cold shoulder! What the fuck’s that supposed to solve?!” Snorting, he added, “I don’t even think my ex and I argued like this or were as immature as the two of you.”

Grabbing Connor by looping an arm around his, Hank dragged his friend back out towards the door. “It’s your call, Nines, but I tell ya, a lot of people these days are _so_ impatient.” Holding the door open with his elbow, he glared at Nines while shaking his head. “Whatever happened to fighting hard to keep a relationship going, huh? Whatever happened to honoring your lover’s feelings, taking into consideration their concerns, and trying to balance each other out over the years?”

When the silence in the room was thick enough to smother them, Nines whispered, “I’m better off without Gavin.”

“Perhaps you are,” Hank sighed, pushing his long, messy hair back with a hand while he used the other one to push Connor out of the room. Dejectedly and tiredly, he only took one long, last glance at Nines, and the RK900 found it to be quite somber and crestfallen. It appeared as if Hank had truly given up, now, and he shockingly appeared years older and more exhausted than ever before.

“I thought you and Gavin had what it takes to become an exceptional couple,” the older man almost wept out, his voice hitting Nines square in the head and leaving him stunned more than a baseball bat to the skull could’ve done.

A sad smile formed its way along Hank’s face, and as he licked his dry lips, he whispered, “Guess I was wrong, kiddo, and while it hasn’t been the first time, I suppose it also won’t be the last time, either.” With a wave, he uttered disconsolately, “See ya around, Nines.”

When the door swung shut, to Nines’ amazement, it sounded almost identical to the lid of an old coffin slamming closed dolefully.


	75. Cruel Samples of Happiness

By the time Nines got home that same day, he’d managed to barely miss getting caught in a serious rainstorm. Although the days were getting longer, due to the aggressive nature of the seasonal storm, the sky grew quite dark some time past 5:45 p.m., and by the time Nines reached his apartment, it’d grown as black as the night, outside. Weaving his way inside, he shrugged out of his wet trench coat and squeaky boots, tossing them unceremoniously down at the floor of the closet. Clearly not caring about the mess and disorganized shambles he was leaving his apartment in, he made his way towards the bedroom. Naturally wanting nothing more than to shrug out of his heavy work clothes, Nines had barely stepped into the dimly lit room, when he’d been assaulted and ambushed by a beaming phone screen slapping into his face.

Bouncing like a jittery bug, a cautelous Gavin snickered and swirled about like a child. Cautiously, Nines tried approaching him to see what it was he found so fascinating and alluring on his phone, but then Gavin shied away. Each and every time Nines attempted to peer over at the phone, a most cunning Gavin wouldn’t allow it. The thought that Gavin was perhaps flirting or sexting with someone else entered the android’s mind, and his chatoyant eyes turned malicious in a flash. Gavin abruptly giggled, and that sealed the treacherous idea in Nines’ mind that yes, he was indeed being conniving and flirting.

Lips curled back in a deadly sneer, Nines’ commonitive words escaped him quickly. “If you’re messing around on that thing, then I swear to—”

Gavin raised the phone again, and with compunction evident in his face and tone, he gasped, “Dude, no way!! I just wanted to show you that I found someone who may relate to you!!”

Not in the mood for the games, Nines conceded to the unfortunate dystopia. The durity in his face grew morbid, but Gavin was at the peak of his insane cunctation, and he shrugged carelessly while presenting the phone to Nines. Needless to say, the image there wasn’t too appropriate, but the stymied RK900 knew Gavin was trying to make a point by mocking his appearance and visage.

“Do you like it?”

Irritably, Nines groused, “Gavin, would you please drop the childish bullshit for a moment?”

Sputtering, Gavin stared at the phone in awe. “What’s wrong? No good?” Huffing, he petulantly added, “I thought you’d appreciate this dude!!”

Pointing in abject anger at the phone, Nines roared, “I’m nothing like…” Arms shunting up and down at the pinnacle of his misery, he snapped, “…Goth Bill Gates, here!! Now would you get the fuck out of my way so I can—”

Again, the phone wagged in his face like a flag. It didn’t take too long for Nines to espy that Gavin had his camera set to film the entire event, no doubt for the twisted purposes of re-watching his husband’s stunned reaction over and over again.

New waves of irritation slapped Nines in the face. Standing closer to Gavin, he peered over his shoulder as he nearly knocked the phone from his partner’s hands. Gavin started swearing at him for it immediately, but Nines found he could care less.

“Duuude!” Gavin began moodily, like a child. “You’ll break it!”

Waspishly, Nines grunted, “Gavin, I’m really fed up when I have to come home after a long day to this.” Gesturing at the phone, he expounded clearly, “You think I’m stupid enough to be in the mood for your games, but you let me find out that shit’s recording!”

Dumbly, Gavin blinked, rendered to muteness for a moment. Shrugging, he feigned irrisory ignorance as he wailed, “What’re you talking about?”

Nines seethed. “The camera.”

“What camera?”

That was when Nines swiped at the phone. He missed, and to his utter contempt, Gavin had quick reflexes for someone as inebriated as he currently was. There was a tetchy fight left in Gavin, yet, and he snickered as he tried to swipe at Nines in return.

Dancing on his feet, he playfully bounced as he cackled, “What’re you g-gonna do, son?”

Gasping as he leapt back from another punch, Nines hardly had time to ask what the hell was going on, when Gavin growled at him. “We’ve been invited to dinner with Marsha and Charles…somethin’ about wanting to celebrate the spring or some shit.”

Ignoring the bland, dull look his partner had been giving him the entire time he spoke, Nines asked, “Celebrating the spring? Is this something she does every year?”

“Dunno,” Gavin’s drawl came, followed by a cold shrug, face entirely emotionless.

Lifting a brow, Nines inquired, “You already accepted?”

Waving the phone at him as if it were a baton, Gavin retorted angrily, “Look at our conversation yourself, and you tell me, man!”

Pausing for a moment, a small voice at the back of Nines’ head whispered: _he trusts you enough to voluntarily give you his phone without a fuss…_

Stunned for a moment, Nines ignored the phone. “I trust you,” he sniped, “but why does Marsha want to see us, now?” Already suspicious of the duncical woman he didn’t exactly like even as an odd acquaintance, Nines felt annoyance growing within himself.

Frowning thickly, Gavin pocketed his phone. “How the hell do I know, Nines?! She’s random like that, okay??”

Looking at the ceiling, Nines winced, “You’ve been her friend, dated her, went to school with her, and you’ve _no _idea why she behaves this way, huh?”

“Not her psychiatrist,” Gavin argued back. “Anyway, I told her that I’d have to discuss it with my _spouse_, first, sooo…”

Their eyes met, and Nines wanted nothing more in the world than to say: ‘I’m not your spouse anymore, Reed; we’re done’. Though he tried, in the end, he couldn’t bring himself to say that. Something otherworldly sealed his mouth shut, and he racked his mind trying to decipher ‘why’.

Blinking slowly while he wished he could’ve blinked his inner anguish away, Nines sighed out dramatically, “Fine. Accept it for as soon as you can so we can both be done with her.”

“Got it.”

As Gavin spun around, his fingers clicked and tapped away, no doubt composing his message. He seemed eager to get on the task, and as he stood there no more than a few feet away from Nines, the tall, observant android studied him from head to toe. Taking his time with his personal ‘study’, Nines located the grey roots sprouting on Gavin’s scalp. His clean hair blew back due to the light breezes churning about from the open windows. His eyes narrowed while he concentrated on his task, and the tip of his nose twitched for a moment. Whenever he inhaled, his chest fanned out, and his shoulders broadened. His dark brown eyebrows rose gracefully for a moment, and then danced down along his brow. Finally, when his lips grew slightly dry, the tip of his pink tongue darted out, and he moistened those same lips Nines had the pleasure of tasting time and time again.

Not even glancing in his direction, Gavin asked Nines softly, “Wanna mess around a bit?”

Immediately, Nines’ scowl etched its way back onto his face. “Don’t fuck with me, Reed,” he warned. “I haven’t got the patience for your impudence tonight.” Though he wouldn’t dare admit it out loud, no matter what, he _still_ found Gavin breathtaking and handsome in every right. All Nines did was hope and pray that Gavin hadn’t picked up on his mild arousal when he’d examined the shorter man for too long.

Gavin impishly grinning forth at him, and Nines was rather taken aback by his random, bold move when Gavin pulled a white feather out from his jean pocket and used it to tickle his tall husband beneath the chin and along the length of his neck with.

Nines resolutely stood scowling ferociously at Gavin, but his efforts held no sway.

In a high-pitched, sing-song tune, Gavin sang out as he continued to tickle Nines. “Deeeetectiiiive!” he began in ever the silly manner. “I want to make love to yoooou, in the most aaancient traaadition!!”

Scoffing at him while slapping his hand away, Nines hissed, “As I thought; you’re drunk.”

Nonchalantly, Gavin’s response to that came in the form of a cold shrug. Throwing the feather to the floor, he turned back to his phone, already composing his next reply to Marsha. Without even glancing in Nines’ direction, he sneered as he confessed, “I’m a bit high. So what?”

Keeping his mouth snapped shut, Nines concluded to himself mordantly, _A junkie. I’ve got a fucking junkie for a husband. Never thought I’d see the day._

Once through with texting Marsha back hurriedly, Gavin tossed his phone over his shoulder. It flew across the room, but surprisingly landed perfectly on the center of the Queen-sized bed. Crossing his arms over his firm, toned chest, Gavin spoke gruffly, “Thought so.”

Lips curled back in a silent sneer, the gothic android snapped, “Stop playing games, Reed. What is this _really _about?”

Scratching his stubble almost absent of everything else, it took a while before Gavin barked irritably, “Oooh, nothing much, Nines! Only one little niggle, and it just baffles me that considerin’ how all I’m gonna be good enough for is sex when it comes to you, I guess I was a dumbass for expectin’ more, huh?”

Angry that Gavin hadn’t been more judicious in this approach, Nines turned away partly as he kept his head down. “I never used you,” he admitted openly. “You know that, and I’m tired of hearing—”

“Not everything’s about _you_,” Gavin asserted brokenly, his face scrunched up in pain, sadness, and something else Nines couldn’t trace.

Tension was pendulous between them, now, and Nines only deadpanned as he refused to meet Gavin’s eyes. Deep down, he knew precisely what Gavin had been desiring and yearning to hear from him all along. It was as simple to notice as the warm spring breeze that lingered outside, promising along with itself a wondrous, fruitful summer. Anytime Nines was around Gavin, that same desire riveted and slammed into his sensors as well, and he knew it would be improbable to try and avoid it or act as though it didn’t exist.

And just what exactly did Gavin long to hear coming from his spouse? Three simple words. However, they were words Nines wasn’t ready to spew and proclaim. No. The moment had to be perfect, the time had to be right, and his feelings had to come straight from the heart he never knew he had, and the soul he didn’t think he was capable of feeling. Gavin deserved that, and much, much more. He didn’t deserve half-assed words, and no matter how emotionally upset and distraught he was feeling about not hearing those specific words right now, Nines decided that it would be a lot better and far more meaningful if Gavin heard them when the moment was perfect.

But for now, he had to reassure his partner that he shouldn’t have been leaving himself open to melanic doubts and worries. Yes, they’d suffered through numerous rough patches before, but surprisingly, they’d gotten over them. They’d worked together, and in some way, they’d made it through.

Confident they would be able to do this over and over again, Nines empathetically began, “Gavin, you should know how much I care about—”

Gavin shut him up in the most expedient way possible, crossing the scant distance between them, launching himself into the long, black length of Nines’ body, covering his mouth with his own. Nines’ mouth was warm and pliant against his, unhesitatingly inviting himself inside the snug haven. Almost at the exact moment, they groaned, Nines burying himself closer, needing, seeking the warmth Gavin seemed to radiate.

Gavin undulated his hips into the thinner ones of his spouse’s. Reluctantly, he broke off the kiss, lips already swollen. “Before we got together,” he began his question while a flushed shade of pink crawled across his cheeks, “did you ever jerk off thinking about me?”

A thrilling smile settled onto those perfect lips. “No,” Nines admitted truthfully, “but right now, I could really go for lurid sex.”

Brows rising, Gavin repeated in a suggestion, “_Hours_ of lurid sex?” Humming while his eyes raked wantonly up and down Nines’ body, he commented slyly, “You sure you wanna do that with _me_?? You know, considerin’ how you said before that I’m _sooo_ lazy in the bedroom with my lousy technique?”

Both of Nines’ large, wide hands groped and grabbed greedily at Gavin’s ass, yanking him forth aggressively. “Shut the fuck up and take your clothes off, Reed.”

While Nines knew they had other more urgent and far more important matters to settle, all those worries and concerns temporarily disappeared when Gavin’s hips slanted and rubbed against his own. Yes, it was time to chase a momentary distraction, and then they would return to permanent, long-term gains.

Settling on this internally, Nines gripped the back of his lover’s neck in a large, strong hand, and he pushed Gavin up against one of the walls.

For quite some time after, they didn’t make love; they fucked. It was strange…they fucked like they fought; with no reservations.

*x*x*x*x*x*

Together, they decided to accept the dinner invitation, though not without some kind of a peace offering and gift. Nines-painfully aware of the fact that he hadn’t exactly contributed to leaving a good, lasting impression on both Marsha and Charles-opted for cooking a dish with Gavin. Making it something of a potluck dinner, they heated the meal in the oven while they got ready sometime after 4:25 p.m.

Nines had already chosen to dress in a new jacket and suit top. It was a mixture of a formal and gothic outfit, a lot of old-fashioned chains and links glowing in silver as they hung from the pockets and seams of the jacket top. It all fit together nicely when he clipped on a brand-new grey tie that had tiny dragons running up and down the length of it. For his lower half, he selected simple black dress pants, freshly ironed and washed. Making sure not to put on a lot of smoky, grey eyeshadow, Nines applied a thin layer of eyeliner over the bottom lid of both his eyes, and he tucked a ruby red, satin napkin just for show in the right-hand pocket of his suit jacket. The buttons were neat and shiny, and he did all but the first two up while he walked out into the living room to show off to Gavin.

Much as the debonair RK900 had anticipated, Gavin matched his clothing of choice almost identically to his android spouse’s. They could’ve been twins if gazed at from a far distance, and as Nines examined the clean black dress pants, black, shiny dress shoes, and black long-sleeve shirt beneath a black vest, he smirked.

Catching the grin thrown his way, Gavin asked, “Do you approve?”

“Of course I do,” came the deep rumble of an honest answer. “As long as the clothes are on you, I like them and will approve, but…” Nines winked flirtatiously, then, “if you’re asking me, I’d much prefer the clothes to be littered on the floor instead.”

With an annoyed huff, Gavin flicked a finger at his clothes. “Thought you were gonna tone down the ‘goth’ look, Nines?”

Straightening his lapel, Nines held up his chin as he snorted, “There just so happens to be a sense of style called ‘corporate goth’, you know.”

“Whatever,” Gavin snapped, and as soon as he did, Nines felt his mood turning dark and sour.

So they were once again at each other’s throats due to miscommunication and barriers they both created for themselves, together? Charming. Absolutely charming. But he didn’t have the patience to argue back or show attitude.

Marching to the kitchen, Nines yanked out the roasted chicken, making sure it sat in its pot nicely before seasoning and decorating it with sliced lemons, basil, cilantro, and raw carrot bits. Lining them up nicely around the steaming meal, he then placed it within a crock pot, and closed the lid tightly.

“I’ll be in the damn car,” he stated bluntly, leaving the apartment door wide open behind himself.

While they hadn’t exchanged a single word as they drove towards the Driver household, they both certainly enjoyed the view. In the early spring months, the neighborhood the Driver’s lived in looked even lovelier than in the winter, as Nines recalled. All the Christmas lights and decorations had been removed, and instead, a lot of the people on the street had already cut and trimmed their lawn, put out and re-filled bird feeders, set up and ran their outdoor pools, water fountains, birdbaths, and were remodeling the perimeter of their home. It was indeed refreshing and beautiful to see trees luxuriously laden with fruits, already, and sprinklers were lightly spraying water everywhere on pure green grass. A fresh scent was in the air, and it was a refined blend between the soil, water, freshly cut grass, as well as the way the sun heated and cooked up asphalt on people’s driveways.

By the time Nines and Gavin parked the car on the side of the curb in front of the Driver household same as they had in the winter, Gavin yanked out the crock pot covered in a tiny blanket to keep the food warm. Nines followed him towards the front door, and as soon as the tall android knocked only twice on the wooden door, it swung open quickly.

Immediately, Gavin’s and Nines’ jaw fell when they were face-to-face with Marsha Driver. The woman had cut almost all of her black hair. While it’d been renewed with a fresh dye application making her roots as pitch black as the night, Marsha had styled and cut it to hang just beneath her jawline. It seemed to be a messy bob-cut of sorts, with the side and front bangs slightly longer than the back, which had rested around the back of her nape. Her horizontal bangs hung and curtained down into her brown eyes, which twinkled pleasantly when she gazed at her guests. She’d taken her earrings and jewelry out, surprisingly, and she wore little-to-no-makeup. Only a small, thin shade of eyeliner, and Nines found to his mortification that he’d been wearing thicker, heavier eyeliner than she was. She’d even changed her style of dress, and she only wore a casual, blue tank top covered mostly by a plaid, loose blouse, and blue skinny jeans which showed off her thin, long legs.

When her kind eyes fell on Gavin, Marsha let out a sad wail. Throwing herself on top of Gavin, she engulfed and embraced him in her arms. “I’m so sorry about your mother, Gavin.” Sniffling lightly, she held onto him tighter, her body quivering and quaking as she held back on her own tears.

Gavin returned her warm hug, but he didn’t want to talk about the loss of another parent. Nodding his head at Marsha, his lips hardly twitched as he bit out, “It’s fine. That’s life, I guess.”

Brushing her clothes and hair back, Marsha sadly nodded. “I hope you’ll be okay, Gavin.”

Not minding the way Gavin and Nines eyed her incredulously, Marsha suddenly and very slowly took her time to gape at them both as she recovered, but mostly, she took to focusing on Nines.

Holding out a hand, Marsha let it wave starting from the top of Nines’ head, dropping all the way down at her own side. “Wow!” she smiled from ear-to-ear, and it was a most genuine smile. “Look at you, Nines!! I love the new look!!” Her mellisonant words did in fact cheer Nines up, and he graced her with a generous smile.

In the past, Nines would’ve immediately cast doubt on Marsha. Where he’d once considered and regarded her to be one of the most basic, most fake, most disingenuous individuals on the planet, now, the current version of a melliloquent Marsha Driver standing in front of him in black, furry slippers, seemed to be a whole new person. It wasn’t just her appearance alone; when she smiled, she smiled with all her personality and spirit, and Nines couldn’t detect anything phony or made-up about her. She seemed more accepting and open, now, and she hardly appeared judgmental in the slightest.

As the door swung open back further, Charles Driver appeared next to his wife. His hair remained the same style, the same length as it had been in the winter, and he seemed slightly anxious. His eyes widened for a moment, but then he calmed down as he bowed his head. Wearing a white dress shirt and grey dress pants, he greeted, “Nines. Gavin. Come on in.”

As they stepped inside, Gavin held up the crock pot. “Surprise?” Wincing as he pressed the word out awkwardly, he coughed, “Errr, where should I—”

“I got it,” Charles smiled warmly, easing the burden of having to hold and carry the heavy crock pot from Gavin’s outstretched arms.

Fawning over the pot, Marsha exhaled, “Oooh!! Gaaaavin! You didn’t have to do this! We already prepared a big, hearty meal!!”

“It’s our treat,” Gavin offered, and once he and Nines slid out of their shoes, they noticed that the home wasn’t as organized and neat as it had been before. Many toys were out of place, hanging out from their plastic bins and containers, and video games as well as consoles were strewn about carelessly. Logo blocks and pieces had to be avoided carefully while the two men tiptoed around, and if Nines didn’t know any better, he would’ve assumed that little Nathan Driver had recently been home.

“How’s your son?” he asked while wondering why the little boy was nowhere to be found. It was a weekend, and quite a lovely, bright, sunny day! Yet, in the front yard and backyard, nothing but plants, a swimming pool, and a gardening shed could be found.

Placing the crock pot on the kitchen island while Charles fetched out from their oven roast beef, the scents lingering in the air were already delectable. It would go nicely with the chicken, Nines mused.

Handing her husband a pair of oven mitts while he opened the oven door, Marsha sighed softly with an air of pride, “Oooh Nathan’s doing really well, Gavin!! He’s at a friend’s birthday party, otherwise, we would’ve had him home so he could meet you two!!”

Turning slightly red in the face, Gavin only nodded. “Umm, yeah, well, it’s good he’s having fun, I suppose.”

Charles and Marsha quickly moved the dishes, cups, utensils, napkins, beverages, as well as the dessert trays into the dining room. Not even waiting for an invitation, Nines volunteered to lend them some help. Rushing to the man’s aid, he stood by him, carefully folding the napkins in neat bundles while Charles put the plates before the seats.

Gaping like a fish out of water at Nines helping her husband so wonderfully, Marsha dashed ahead and lightly smacked Charles on the back of the head. Yelping as he leapt up in fright, he then cradled the back of his head as he hissed at his wife.

“Baaaabe, whyyy?”

Snapping at him, Marsha gently nudged him out of the way while she set the table with more salad dressings and the salt and pepper shakers. “Who gets the guests to do all the work?! Seriously, Charles,” she huffed, blowing her bangs out of her eyes, “you’re not smart at all sometimes!!”

“I don’t mind helping,” Nines interjected, and as he continued to set up the rest of the table with Charles, he felt eyes burning and sizzling into the back of his head. He didn’t even need to turn around to know that his spouse was regarding him with complete looks of disgust, anger, contempt, and tonitruous resentment.

*x*x*x*x*x*

Nines sensed accurately that as dinner moved along, Gavin had grown more and more bitter. The sagacious, thoughtful RK900 sported his own theories as to why that may have been, but he doubted Gavin would admit openly to any of them. All the shorter man seemed to do was glare daggers of death and hatred directly at Charles and Marsha while they sat side by side across from Gavin himself and Nines.

More specifically, Nines knew that Gavin Reed was absolutely envious. He envied what Marsha and Charles had, and he knew that more than life itself, Gavin wanted for them both to be able to hold hands over the surface of the table, their matching wedding bands shining beneath the dim lights. He was very much aware of the fact that Gavin wanted him to gaze back longingly into his eyes, getting lost in their depths in much the same way Charles got lost in Marsha’s eyes. Gavin wanted nothing more in the world than for Nines to cherish him, desire him, care about him, and want him to be close…

Unsure of how to express himself yet again, Nines could only listen while forcing a partly nefastous smile onto his face as Charles and Marsha spoke about how they were sorry for lashing out at them previously. Then, after staring far too long at Nines, Charles only just realized that he’d been missing his LED light.

They all laughed, they all seemed to get along just fine, and they helped clear the dining room table and clean the kitchen afterwards. Nines didn’t mind loading the dirty dishes into the dishwasher, actively participating in cleaning up even though he hadn’t been able to eat a single thing. Still, this was a way to bond, he supposed. More importantly, he felt he wasn’t yet ready to talk to Gavin, especially when the pigheaded detective was already irritable and short-tempered enough.

Soon enough, Nines found that the ‘party’ had once again moved to the living room where the chapstick challenge had occurred way back in the autumn. It seemed so very long ago, now…strange, time now passed as quickly for the android as it had for humans, as well.

Though it appeared as if Gavin didn’t really want to be seated next to Nines, he bore it with clamped thighs pressed together, a conflicted, perplexed facial expression, and a rigid body posture. He seemed to want to be anywhere else in Detroit aside from next to Nines, but the RK900 gave him that full right to feel such a way.

Remaining pleasant and amicable, Nines spoke to Marsha and Charles about summer plans, Nathan’s hobbies, and a few other things he didn’t particularly have any interest in, but just wanted to pass the time well enough and make it so that neither Charles nor Marsha picked up on signs that Gavin was troubled. Thankfully, the couple didn’t chase after ebrious activities today, but they seemed more focused on Nines and learning all they could about him.

Unfortunately, this seemed to irritate the captious detective even further, and he soon lashed out when he’d had his first glass of pungent Russian Ice Marsha prepared for him. Tongue now looser than Nines wanted it to be, Gavin tipped his head back, downed the remaining bits of his cold beverage, and then set the glass down on the shiny table in front of himself. It made a rather loud sound, and Marsha and Charles-worried about their furniture-glanced up at Gavin.

“Gavin?” Charles tried in a soft tone, “you okay?”

His answer came in the form of a displeased grunt, followed by a cold, cruel sneer. Shifting his glass about, the ice cubes clanked against the strong holder the beverage was contained in, and for many seconds, Gavin simply continued doing this. Marsha and Charles eyed him in concern, and Nines knew for certain that Gavin was only doing this to drown out the profound sounds of his heartbeat racing in his ears, his pulse thrumming in his veins, and his doubts swimming and churning about in his mind.

Finally ceasing the motions, Gavin lowered his glass, and he stared right out through the patio doors into the backyard of the Driver property. “Isn’t it lovely?” he asked, gesturing with his chin jutting out towards the tinges of yellow, orange, and pink that loomed on the great horizon outside.

Nines sneered but remained silent.

Awkwardly, Gavin propped a hand beneath his chin, leaning on the edge of his sofa seat as he placed the glass right in the center of the coffee table. Eventually, his grey-blue eyes wandered up to capture the sight of Marsha and Charles seated so closely together that their legs touched.

Coldly, the embittered, mesquin detective sneered. “I’ve always wondered something,” he began in a pained tone. “Perhaps you guys can help shed some light on this, especially since ya’ll have been married for a while, and evidently, oh sooooo happy in love…”

Hearing the bite in his voice and through his ragmatical words, Nines placed a hand down on Gavin’s thigh. The other male strongly shoved it off, and he straightened his body posture up. As the sky grew a little darker outside due to the setting sun, the ambiance and mood inside the living room seemed to turn tense and thick.

Puffing his chest out, Gavin snapped, “What if we’re kidding ourselves?! What if we’re impugning each other and deluding ourselves into thinking that we have built something special with someone else under false pretenses?” Glaring evenly at Marsha first, and then at Charles as though they’d truly offended him in the worst way possible, Gavin stretched and kicked out his legs before himself while shaking his head.

“Look at you guys,” he snorted, folding his hands across his chest. “You’re weaker not to have the guts to admit that there is _no such thing _as ‘love’.” Holding up the hand that held Nines’ ring on it, he cried, “You think that just because we create these stupid material things meant to symbolize a tie, a bond, a fuckin’ union, that makes it all more realistic?! Is that really it?!”

Gaping at him, Charles rasped, “Gavin, it’s not like that, you—”

“It’s sex we want, not love!” Gavin screamed, to which everyone in the room ceased moving, breathing, and blinking. No one knew what to do with this pessimistic éclaircissement, so they didn’t utter a single word.

Laughing cruelly, Gavin screamed, “The urge to reproduce, fuck, and get our release is the _only_ thing we want!” Eyes bulging from the intensity of his nefandous screams, practically, Gavin roared in pain and complete agony, “There’s _no_ god damn such thing as love, and the sooner we wake the hell up and smell the shitty coffee, the better off we’ll be!!”

Even the sounds of the animals outside had all died down, perhaps due to his potent screams that reverberated off the walls and no doubt flocked outside, too.

Further enraged, Gavin supplied, “Since the beginning of time, humans have shown and proven that they’re _not_ monogamous beings, and as much as they want to play ‘family’ and ‘happy stories’ all day long, they do a lot of horrible shit and then blame it on ‘love’! People cheat,” he labeled and pointed out while raising a finger, “people lie, people break each other’s hearts, but hey, they will do that while claiming to love you!!!”

Shrieking, he asked, “How’s that love?! Huh?! I don’t get it, because as far as I know, the definition and feeling is totally dead and unknown to me!” Glaring at the married couple, he hissed coldly, “At least you both could be honest with yourselves instead of dancin’ around like a pair of stupid monkeys puttin’ on a show and pissin’ me off!!”

Though Charles tried stepping in, every time he did so, Marsha wisely placed a hand down on his, tugged it to gain his attention, and would only shake her head ‘no’ to discourage him.

Waving his arms almost desperately through the air to make cutting motions, Gavin almost squealed like a captured beast, “I mean, when you’re _not_ buried knee-deep in sex, tits, and ass, Charles, how can you be so damn sure that when that feelin’ ends, you’re experiencing ‘love’?!? Ha?!?”

Both Marsha and Charles avoided looking at each other, and this somehow increased and spiked Gavin’s anger.

“Who determines what that ooey-gooey feeling we label ‘love’ is really even that damn philosophical, deep, and spiritual as we think it is?! Huh?!” This time, he channeled and directed his barbed words closer to the couple, raw belligerence and aggression spiking his veins, no doubt due to the alcohol.

Sneering at his friends, he let loose from his not-so-wise tongue, “I think it’s all silly. It’s just a way we ease the burden of the guilt off our shoulders; we have to give a lot of things special ‘names’ and assign special occasions to them, otherwise, we’ll be no better than animals, right?”

When no one answered his question, the short detective roared, “Am I the _only_ fucker who thinks this way?! Huh?! Have I only caught onto the fact that in order for us not to feel lower than animals, anytime we wanna fuck and screw, we are supposed to say we’re in ‘love’ and that there’s feelings associated with it!?!”

As his voice grew shrill, indicative of the explosive detective losing all his cool, he’d turned around to throw an insult at Nines, when the android reached forward and slammed a hand down on his back. It effectively stopped him in a jiffy. Gavin seized up, and as his eyes rose to meet Nines’ angry gaze, he shrank back marginally like a scolded child.

Nines’ serious, pronounced glare was almost enough to make Gavin feel ashamed of himself; almost. Not quite fully, it seemed, and he was able to glare resolutely back as Marsha and Charles kept their eyes down to the floor; the ultimate form of submission born out of awkwardness and a fear of interfering and saying the wrong, dissolute things.

Lips curling back, Nines snarled as Gavin remained dead set on scowling sternly at his partner, evidently insisting upon engaging in his procacity. Fists still clenched at his sides, he couldn’t back down from the aggressive manner in which Nines was staring at him in as the android grumbled in a deep tone and spoke right out from the bottom of his chest.

“Why don’t you head on upstairs, get all your notes, and we’ll have ourselves a fucking recital.” Nines spoke so softly that it still couldn’t have been mistaken for a man on the brink of explosion. The consonants and vowels seemed to snap and break into every part of the room, shoving Gavin back as his heart thrummed violently in his chest.

Mortification and degradation hadn’t felt nearly as bad as this, and right now, those emotions all seemed like child’s play in comparison to the utter ignominy Gavin felt surging through his system and coursing in his brain, currently.

Far beyond the brink of a childlike innocence, he glanced at Marsha and Charles. Their faces were bright pink, and they couldn’t even meet his gaze. Marsha shyly tucked a loose lock of hair behind her ear, and Charles wrapped one arm around her small shoulders, while with his free one, he held tightly onto his wife’s smaller hand. Their wedding rings knocked together, the lights bouncing and shining off the expensive jewelry and practically blinding Gavin.

What an embarrassing situation, indeed, though at least the procellous atmosphere and mood had graciously dissipated…


	76. Therapy and Sanctuary

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was brought to you by someone who cares.

The ring easily slid off Gavin’s finger, and as Marsha and Charles squeaked out their protests, Nines only offered his lover a caustic sneer. At least Gavin had the decency to pocket the ring, and as he stood to his feet, he fidgeted before nervously gushing out, “I apologize, Charles, Marsha…” Turning and pointing at Nines, then, he expounded uncomfortably, “This is more so my problem and his; not yours.”

Rapidly, he stalked out of the room, down the hall, and he was already putting his shoes on his feet. At once, Marsha and Charles gaped at Nines, staring back and forth at him, the hallway, over at him again, and then Marsha hissed, “What’s going on, Nines?!”

“Yeah!” Charles cried, eyebrows high on his forehead. “Go after him!!”

Was that what he’d been required to do?

Almost petulantly, Nines wanted to cry out, “Why should I?”, but then, a voice welling up deeply from within the pit of his system clawed its way up to the surface, and it spoke on his behalf.

He wasn’t willing to let Gavin go; not now, not ever. He’d worked so long and so hard at trying to establish a bond, and a true relationship. What fool would give that up, now? What idiot would purposefully knock down and crumble the castle they’d created and embellished with someone they cherished and valued so much?? What of that love?

….

Love?

Yes…love.

If Nines had before been searching for an opportune moment to come forth and confess his feelings, now was the best time. Well, the situation and moment had been thrust upon him surprisingly, but that didn’t mean he was going to sit by and allow the opportunity to slip through his fingers. He had to make it work, and he was going to chase after Gavin.

Picking up his feet, he sped through the brightly lit hallway of the Driver home, and he just managed to catch Gavin on the way out the door. The short brunette was making his way down the driveway already, weaving between Marsha’s vehicle and his own. When he tried fishing out his keys from his pocket, Nines slammed a strong hand down powerfully on his shoulder and spun him around.

Putting up a fight, Gavin trained his eyes and face to the concrete below, and as he tried wriggling free of Nines’ hold on himself, the door behind them squeaked open, and Nines was already aware of Marsha and Charles watching them.

Leaning close to Gavin, he hissed, “Please stop, Gavin!”

Throwing his head back, the rebellious nature of the short detective revealed itself as he screamed out, “FUCK OFF, NINES!!”

“The entire neighborhood will hear, you fool!!”

“I DON’T GIVE A MOTHERFUCK!” Gavin retorted, scratching at the keys like a wild animal. “LET ME GO, OR I’LL CALL UP A FUCKIN’ CAB!!”

Cupping the man’s cheeks in his wide, large hands, Nines maintained eye contact, leaned in closely, and spat in Gavin’s face with all the emotions he could muster. “I LOVE YOU, GAVIN REED!! CAN’T YOU SEE THAT??”

Those words…those words had been exactly what Nines knew Gavin had wanted to hear for so long, and yet he had shrugged them off so easily. Brushing them off as though they were flakes that weighed nothing or whispers in the wind, Gavin backed himself up until he was pressed against the side of the car. Thankfully, only Marsha and Charles seemed to be observing them, and the rest of the neighborhood had quieted down in terms of activity.

Not letting go now that he’d finally come forward with his true feelings, Nines repeated, “Please listen to me, Gavin; I _do_ love you, and I want to work things out.”

He knew he’d be met with resistance; both men had been at odds and remained unconsentaneous for some time. It was a pattern Nines had grown accustomed to, but above it all, he knew that wasn’t the real Gavin Reed. The human had always pulled through for him, surprising him and awakening him to things he’d only ever dreamed of. He was not going to give that up or let it go.

Again, he stated succinctly, “I love you, Gavin.”

Shaking his head back and forth as if trying to free his neck and head from the confines of some invisible net, Gavin bucked as he snapped crudely, “Fuck off, that’s _not_ true, Nines.”

“Then why does your voice waver so?” Nines asked, hands once again coming up to slide over Gavin’s face, holding on tightly. Their foreheads pressed together, and Nines whispered again, “I love you, foolish man. I’ve been in love with you since Halloween, and since you came to carve those pumpkins with me. You have no idea how much you helped save me…” Now, the confessions spilled forth freely, and Nines questioned himself on why he hadn’t come forward with his feelings earlier. It could’ve saved them both a lot of trouble.

Wheezing, Gavin could barely keep his eyes open as he brokenly sobbed out, “R-really? Y-you mean th-that?”

Nines knew that if his LED light was still with himself, it no doubt would’ve reddened still further as he finally admitted to himself that he truly loved Gavin Reed. Owing it to his partner, he nodded as he whispered, “Yes, I love your bravery, your loyalty, the enormous heart that has given you the power to survive the greatest adversity and finally confront some of the demons of your past. Not to mention those enigmatic eyes that sparkle mischievously, that contagious grin, that husky voice, and that way you think no one will notice how sensitive you are given how quickly you become so angry.”

Thumbs stroking Gavin’s stubbly cheeks with the intent never to stop, Nines cried out emotionally, “I know. But how could this truly be happening?” He wondered out loud both his own thoughts, and Gavin’s. “…How could we possibly want each other, right? Ridiculous! Impossible!”

Nodding, Gavin gasped, “I…I do w-want you, too…”

Nines knew the shorter man was watching intently, and when the RK900 gazed back longingly into his eyes, Gavin’s face slowly turned red.

Lips dry so much that Gavin’s tongue darted out to wet them, his voice cracked as he said, “I used to think to myself: Nines hates me too much, and he won’t _ever _like me even as a friend!”

“In turn, I tried pushing you away, but only because I was so, so very frightened of losing you and your heart.” Nines noted the day that he truly suspected that he’d finally made Gavin so angry that he was utterly speechless with frenzied worry.

“I’m s-so sorry, Nines,” Gavin rasped, hands and body trembling like a like caught in the wind. “I had thought that you really hated me, and I was scared to let someone in because it’s b-been so long...but obviously I was mistaken.” Shaking even more profoundly, he cried, “I…I’ll g-go; I’ve already embarrassed us both here enough, and I promise that I won’t ever bother you again!” He ended his statements with a sob as he turned towards the driver’s door.

Nines couldn’t believe it. He’d gambled everything and lost it all. In spite of everything, Gavin was rejecting him yet again. What would it take to help this man to see things clearly?! What sign did he have to put up until Gavin Reed got the picture loud and clear??

Turning towards the married couple briefly, Nines caught looks of nervousness, fleeting hopes, as well as pain crossing over their features. Strangely, it appeared as though Marsha was holding her breath, and Charles was fanning and his hands, waving in Nines’ direction to keep on going.

As Nines was frozen for a moment, he only snapped out of it when he heard rustling.

“I…I c-can’t do this!” The pain in Gavin’s voice finally broke through Nines’ complacency; he never would have imagined that single sorrow-filled statement coming out of the one person he cared and loved the most would break him down so much. He would have imagined obstreperous arrogance or cajolery, not that heart-rending vulnerability that rendered Nines absolutely speechless, and made Gavin seem like he was ten again. It shattered Nines’ bio-components and thirium pump in a nanosecond, but the segment of his CPU that was alive and working ensured he didn’t give up on Gavin.

Ever.

Gavin had partly opened the door by the time his android partner looked up. In a heartbeat, Nines quickly flung himself forward at the door to lock it just before the shorter male reached for the handle, then was pressing himself as tightly as he could around the shorter man. The embrace Nines held Gavin in was bone-crushing, but Nines knew it was exactly what Gavin had needed and lacked all his life.

Already, Gavin was much too upset to focus on the eyes of both Charles and Marsha wavering over himself and Nines. For a moment, Nines knew he was searching for a way to unlock the door, not that he would have been able to gather the energy and willpower to actually get around to opening the door, let alone driving away. The android knew his lover’s throat was too clogged to speak even the simplest of words. But it was a moot point as Nines grabbed his lover and whirled him around, then froze when he saw the tears streaking down Gavin’s pale face.

….

He’d never seen Gavin weeping before.

Nines’ thirium pump clenched at the sight, and he vowed to do everything within his power to ensure that he would never again have to see his beloved overcome with such pain. He gently drew the shorter man into his arms, though he first ran the pads of his thumbs over Gavin’s cheeks, catching and trailing the tears as they fell.

At first, Gavin’s body was stiff and disbelieving, then slowly relaxed into the comfort offered by the strong arms that cradled him gently against the hard, lean body of the android who’d confessed his truest feelings. One hand rested firmly, but undemandingly, at the base of Gavin’s spine, whilst the other wandered soothingly up and down his back. Nines was enveloped by the scent of the man he loved above all others; a heady combination of herbs and pungent male cologne, but underlying it all was a base of apples and cedar.

There were no meaningless platitudes or clumsy, siccaneous apologies, no attempt to offer words of any sort. There wasn’t a need for it. Nines had no idea what would be appropriate, so he said nothing. As much as sharp pain resonated within himself, he wanted to be sincere and silent, rather than to keep blurting things out and overpowering the healing and growth Gavin had to go through. Instead, he merely offered his presence, reveling in the slow relaxation of the body in his arms as much as the man he was holding onto leaned heavily against him.

Gavin’s sobs eventually ceased, and he relaxed completely within Nines’ embrace, hardly daring to believe that this was real. Nines knew that Gavin could hardly believe that he truly wanted him in return. The two stood there for several minutes, basking in the contentment of that moment which lingered between acceptance and desire. The sun grew hotter, even behind the canopy and shade of the clouds lingering above. When the wind blew, it promised along with its magnificent secrets, a most fruitful and kind summer.

Feeling his human partner warming up both internally and externally, Nines placed a soft kiss among the messy brown and grey locks, thinking he would be quite content to just stand there indefinitely, holding his Gavin peacefully.

Suddenly, the shorter male pulled away slightly, just enough to look up, and as the watery ocean-grey gaze met shining blue, the desire that had been held in check slowly started to fill them both.

Raising his brows, Gavin panted, “I’m so sorry I never got you a ring; you deserve so much better, Nines…”

Happy to see that Gavin’s tears were slowly dissipating, Nines lifted one hand to tenderly wipe away the last vestiges of Gavin’s tears. Then, his gaze firmly fixed on the trembling lips before himself, and naturally, he slowly lowered his head. Not caring that Marsha and Charles emitted soft gasps of sheer joy, Nines felt zero obstriction when it came to Gavin Reed. He was going to right all his wrongs, and he started by kissing Gavin deeply. Such a breathtaking kiss made Gavin snake his arms up around the taller man’s neck as he met Nines half-way.

The kiss wasn’t meant to last too long. Nines drew back, unfurled their limbs and he maintained serious eye contact with Gavin. “Your ring, Gavin,” he whispered on the edge of desperation, and then his eyes followed down to the pocket Gavin was hiding it in deeply.

Gavin reached into his pocket and withdrew the ring Nines had just given him a few days ago. Nines took it from Gavin and then said, “Hold out your hand.”

Gavin did so and Nines slid the ring onto his partner’s ring finger while saying with utmost sincerity and passion, “With this ring, Gavin Reed, I pledge a vow of lifelong loyalty to you and only you. I swear to fight for your protection until the day I breathe my very last breath. I give you my entire heart, body, and soul which no one has claimed before. I promise to do my utmost best to ensure a long and happy life for you. All I ask for in return,” Nines then leaned in and whispered into his lover’s ear, “is for you to be my husband. Marry me, Gavin Reed.”

Birds flew on by above, settling every so often on the tips of tall trees, power lines, and on rooftops. Marsha and Charles had slowly been drawn out of their house, and as they caved in under the pressure of their burning curiosity, eager to know what was going on, Gavin could only gape at Nines. The way he stared in such a fixated way at the tall android as though he’d hung the stars and the moon made Nines nearly collapse and fall over in such happiness he’d never thought was possible.

However, it was just more than self-happiness; it was a shared was so overcome with this newfound happiness that he never realized that he had thrown himself into Gavin’s arms; holding onto him as if he was the only thing that would keep him alive.

As he ran his long fingers through Gavin’s hair, he heard and felt the love of his life emit a strained-yet happy cry.

Shaking his head, Gavin wheezed between tears, “Yes!!” He repeated the single word a few times as if it were the only thing he knew how to say before he composed himself and peeled himself away from Nines. At eye-level, now, Gavin cried softly, “I will be the happiest guy in the world to become your husband, Nines.”

He meant it, and Nines needed nothing else. Gathering Gavin back into his arms, he peeked back over his shoulder and flashed both Marsha and Charles the widest grin ever. As they returned it in kind, they approached to embrace the two lovers standing on their front lawn.

They all held onto each other dearly, the joy and pride swelling between them all equally as it shrouded them in a veil of the purest kind of happiness only experienced once in a lifetime.

The entire time while nuzzling against Gavin, Nines continuously found himself wondering when this infatuation with Gavin had begun, and when it’d turned to love.

Oh well. It hardly mattered; he had Gavin right where he’d wanted him all along.

*x*x*x*x*x*

Nines held onto Gavin’s hand tightly the moment they exited their vehicle. They stood facing the wide-open gates of the public cemetery Carrie Moser had been buried in weeks ago. Now that the rain was no longer with them, beneath the soft grey and blue of the skies above, they were able to see things a lot clearer, now. Though the gate was beyond rusted and old, plenty of lights were strewn about over the tall edges of the gate. The entire cemetery was a lot wider than Nines remembered, with plenty of gravestones lining up in rows running up and down vastly. Plenty of footprints, flowers still fresh as the morning sun, as well as wreaths had been hung around the tops of the stones in commemoration.

Some of the stones were cracked, others badly chipped. Some worse off than others, but they all still stood among the tall, deep green of the grass, and the occasional white or red petals of the flowers littered on the grounds. The light-bulbs flickered every once in a while, and it went without saying that all of them were in disrepair. With so many of the cemetery’s decorative lights broken, Nines wondered just how much brighter it would be if they were all switched on. As with everywhere else, there didn’t seem to be anyone around, but this place came across as being even deeper in decline because Nines could imagine how lively the graveyard and distant neighborhood built around it must’ve been in its former days.

Losing track of time was so easy at this moment. Nines didn’t care about it. In fact, all that mattered was the warmth of the flesh and blood he held onto in the palm of his hand, and as he cast a loving look at Gavin, the other male shrank back from it. But it wasn’t Nines that Gavin was fearful of.

“I’m here, you’ll be okay,” he comforted his lover sincerely. “Take your time.”

Now, Nines stood by and examined the grounds and coffins lying deep down below in the earth. The skeletal remains of humans who’d once walked through the streets and paths of Detroit exuded an aura that made Nines feel as if it wouldn’t be strange to find a supernatural being or two floating about accompanying them. Feelings as such made it relatively easy to imagine that many loved ones visited and used to frequent here. It was quite raw, and paired with the ambiance and sights, Nines could’ve wept.

And what a sight. Considering the time of day, the sun should still have been high in the sky when he traveled to the cemetery with Gavin, but now, clouds displayed their countenance, as though to mourn the wretched spectacle below strewn all across the desolate grounds of the cemetery. The shadows cast by the wreckage of the old and forgotten buildings were deeper and darker than black. Steeping as high as they did, they seemed monstrous in design and intentions as they appeared to be the only company Nines and Gavin had.

The gravestones all told their own stories, and the insufferable mass of them all lay bare. It was no maze, but if one took a false step amid the overgrown, wild foliage and vegetation, they would certainly lose their way, perhaps condemned to wander about for eternity.

Though the mood was quite bleak, as Nines held Gavin’s hand in his own, he carefully pulled his partner’s hand up to his lips, and he pressed a cold kiss onto the back of Gavin’s knuckles delicately.

When their eyes met, Nines purred almost ravenously, “Can’t you feel their energy here, Gavin?”

Utterly confused as expected, the detective froze for a moment, and then his face contorted into a disgruntled, puzzled expression. “Energy?” he reiterated, “whose, Nines?”

Peering down below, Nines provided the answer. “The people who wander here; the souls who seem to be lost. They have such energy, Gavin. It certainly isn’t easy to notice at first, but you can feel it if you want to be open to it.” Kneeling at a gravestone, then, Nines pulled Gavin down gently with himself, and together, they read the engraving of the gravestone.

While Gavin hung his head down-perhaps in respect-Nines sighed. Though quite luscious and green all around, this environment was practically like the segregated space of another dimension, one leading to a separate new world. Little by little, as the sun descended, the pale, cloudy sky began changing to a murky grey. As far as the weather went, it wasn’t the best of omens; Nines sensed more heavy rainfall on the horizon brewing.

…More venomous, imbued with the stench of corruption…

Perhaps.

Clasping his hands down at the dirt, Gavin cried out potently, “The grass is so long, the soil is so cold, and yet, I _do_ feel an odd energy coursing through my veins…” Head tilting towards Nines, he rasped in awe, “What’s that feeling, Nines?? Explain it to me…”

Eyes flying over towards the grave of Carrie Moser, Nines whispered a suggestion. “It could perhaps be their love that’s still leftover; their concern for their loved ones who still walk among us on the earth…then again, perhaps it’s just the way the world of the living and the deceased interact…”

“How, Nines? How?” 

He smiled. “I believe it’s harder to see and feel, but there _is_ life after death, and maybe it begins here.”

Gavin’s eyes followed Nines’ line of inquiry. Knowing his partner had set his interest and attention on Carrie Moser’s gravestone, Gavin chewed his lower lip for a second, and then his hands instinctively went to his pocket.

“You can open it,” Nines advised, already making to move back. “I can go if you want—”

“No,” Gavin argued, his hand latching around Nines. “I want you to be here with me while I read this.”

Head bowed down in obeisance, Nines whispered, “Of course.”

Without much else, they both made their way to stand in the rightful, respectful place, right before Carrie’s grave. Nines looked down at the dirt and flowers climbing up from the grass while the craving in the grey stone read:

**Carrie Anna Moser, wife, mother, friend, teacher. 1979-2041**

As Gavin’s shaky fingers unfurled the letter from the confines of its old envelope, the detective hung his head down much like Nines was doing. With his head craned down, majority of his grey and white strands shot forth, but Nines found them to be a beauty; a work of the artistic wonders of nature.

Inhaling sharply as the dolent wind died down, as though listening, Gavin whispered, “An open letter to my dearest and most cherished son, the man who gave so much of himself to everyone and made all the sacrifices in the world at such a young age…”

_“I feel your pain, honey. I’ve been watching you from the moment you let out your first cry, announcing your presence to the world. I’ve been with you since you took your first step, and since you learned your first word. Don’t think I never noticed you, my son._

_First of all, you have to know that it’s very admirable that you try so hard to care for the people around yourself. It’s amazing that you’re always so willing to give so much of yourself to your relationships. It’s heart-wrenching to know that you’re so selfless to the point where your own well-being is sometimes compromised. There are very few people like you; someone who is brave enough to jump head-first into the waters of love without having to think twice about it. You are always so quick to see the goodness in the people around yourself. You are the one who usually takes notice of the things that no one else really pays attention to. _

_You are always willing to give your helpful heart to the outcasts; the people who are so incredibly flawed that no one wants anything to have to do with them. These are the damaged human beings who roam the world; they are the ones that you take it upon yourself to help. They are the ones you convince yourself you can fix. But unfortunately for you, your kindness is often what allows others to take advantage of you. It’s the ones who you try to help who are also so willing to bite your hand when you feed them. It’s the ones who you give your whole heart to who are so willing to just stomp on it with their feet. They are going to milk as much as they can out of you until you have nothing left to give; and they’re going to leave you feeling helpless, dejected, and disappointed. _

_I know your father and I failed you most of the time, because we both kept things from you, and yet we both also used you when we should’ve just been there for you as parents. In time, I realized that through all my breakdowns and misery, my own child was raising me when it should’ve been me who was raising you. I’m so sorry that your father and I put you through this, my Gavin._

_I wish so much to tell you that if you continue to be the kind and genuine soul that you are, the love that you deserve is going to come to you in no time. But that’s not going to be the truth. There are just too many terrible people in the world. And you, with your selfless heart, you aren’t going to discriminate any of them. And you are going to fall victim to a lot of them before you actually find the people you’re meant to be with. You’re going to end up stuck in a lot of terrible friendships with people who are going to constantly play with your mind and mess with your sensibilities. They are going to victimize you with every chance that they get. They will abuse and manipulate you to do things that might be self-destructive to you, but beneficial to them. _

_These are the people who will keep you on the leash and string you along for the ride, but they will only throw you crumbs. They are never going to be the people that you need them to be. But they are always going to demand that you be your best self for them. And being the caring person that you are, you will consent to it. But I’m going to tell you that these are the temporary feelings by people who walk in and out of your life depending on what’s convenient for them, and they won’t stick around forever, my child. You are going to meet a lot of people who will be so quick to feed you with sweet lines and words just to keep you hooked. They will shower you with flowery words, but they really have no sincere intentions and motivations behind these words. They just want you to do their bidding and this is how they think they can achieve that. _

_This is how they think they can get as much out of you as they can. They will make you think that they’re so into you; but they’re really only ever interested in what you can offer them. They don’t love you. They just love what you can give to them. They’re never going to commit to you. These people are never going to give you the safety and security that you might need from them in friendships. They are never going to be able to provide you with the ease of mind that you deserve from them. Instead, they will give you stress. They will trigger your insecurities. They will induce your anxieties. And they are going to feed off your vulnerabilities the best way that they can. _

_It’s difficult being the way that you are. You never seem to reap any rewards from it. But you have to persist. Because at the end of the day, you will win. These people who let you go, just as your father let me go; they are the losers. And one day, when you do find the person who is going to make your patience pay off, you’re going to forget about every other guy or girl who has wronged you. I know that you will gain a profound appreciation for the love that you have always deserved to have. _

_I used to think it would be impossible for you to find that right person, but then, one day, an android walked into my life, and he completely changed everything. All the ideas I held about the world, all the notions of bad or good, right or wrong, he changed them. Like an eraser made from magic, this android was a God-sent gift; a divine charm and blessing in disguise. He wiped away all the hurt, the suffering, and he answered all the questions I had. _

_Although a lot of the issues you always had with your stepbrother Elijah may never be solved, I’m a realist, and not a dreamer. I love you now even more than when you were a baby, Gavin. In my eyes, nothing will replace you in my heart, and nothing will take you away from me. I may not be on this Earth for much longer, but I can rest peacefully now that I know you’re taken care of and loved in the way you should be._

_Just continue to love the way that you always have, and you’re going to eventually grow in the same kind of love for yourself. _

_And remember, Gavin; just because dad left, doesn’t mean Nines will.”_

Finally finishing the dolorific letter, as Gavin crumbled down to his knees on the grass, he began sobbing like a lost boy. The tears freshly poured and fell like tiny diamonds from his cheeks down into the grass and earthy soil. Staining his jeans and the letter along with it, he threw his head back and wailed at the sky. A few moments later, fate befell him, and the vast sky above wept with him. The entire time he sobbed, his voice kept breaking. It almost seemed like this had been the first time he’d really cried in decades.

Over the thunder rolling around in the distance high across the valleys, Nines was able to distinctly make out the words Gavin was repeating to himself as he wailed them like a cry for help.

“I love you, mom. Mom…I miss you…”

The raindrops fell, growing larger and heavier. Not bothered by them, Gavin clenched his eyes and fists tightly together, and as Nines took off his raincoat and draped it over his lover’s back and shoulders, Gavin buried his face in the letter. It was now his security blanket, his mother…

As closely as he remained at his side, Nines could’ve sworn he actually scented Carrie Moser’s perfume still imbued all over the page.


	77. Devotion and Desire

“Your tea.” Nines handed Gavin a small cup of ginger tea. Since being caught in the rain, the poor man had caught a small ‘body cold’ of sorts. His shoulders and back hurt especially, and Nines hurried back home to make the ginger tea as efficiently as possible.

Pointing at the small cup holding the hot liquid with the steam rising over the rim, he stated factually, “Ginger is known for a lot of healing properties; it’s a lot more effective than taking a pill.” He was making a pointed reference to Gavin’s constant desire and need for taking Tylenol and Advil.

Wrenching his eyes off the aforementioned pain killers, Gavin shivered as he held his cup of tea towards his chest. “I got it, Nines, no need to bludgeon a guy over the head with all your fancy facts!!”

Pulling at his shirt collar, Nines hissed impetuously, “Take off the wet clothes.”

Slowly obeying, Gavin sighed forlornly. “Do you think it was okay to leave her letter on her grave like that?”

Pausing, Nines stared blankly at a wall, still helping Gavin shrug out of his wet, heavy clothes. “I think it is always wiser to leave the past in the past and acknowledging that it’s time to move on with a fresh start for the future is how we grow, Gavin.”

Looking away as though he were a child being scolded for stealing something, Gavin blushed, and his fingers curled around the width of his cup. Holding onto it tightly, he whispered abashedly, “I haven’t cried in a long, long time, Nines, and yet, whenever I’m with you, I find I keep doing it a lot, especially lately.” His admission seemed to be coming forth in a neutral way, but his smile growing in the corners of his mouth soon gave his truest feelings away.

“I feel so many emotions…I feel the need to cry and just let out everything that I’ve bottled in for over two and a half decades…how can that be??” Yet again, the truth sitting in Gavin Reed’s heart was plain to see, and Nines appreciated that the other male wasn’t concealing anything from him.

Why?

What was so special about himself, really?

Unsure of how to approach for an answer to be provided, Nines could only offer up, “It’s not uncommon to experience something new. Perhaps you just weren’t as open to these experiences before, but you only needed the right person to click with and bring them out.”

It was likely useless, baseless advice, but Gavin seemed to appreciate it anyway. Sipping away at his tea, Nines watched as the contents slowly slid down inside the cup.

Pointing at it, Gavin rasped, “This burns the tongue!!!”

“And the joints, muscles, bones, and elsewhere, if there’s pain and coldness,” Nines supplied like a teacher. “You better finish it all.”

“I will, thank you.”

Standing up to venture around the apartment, Nines asked carefully, “And what about Elijah Kamski?” Aware that he was possibly pushing it, again, he avoided eye contact while he hoped Gavin would be more generous with his answer and not throw the teacup at his head.

His luck wasn’t imaginary.

Ever so calm, Gavin shrugged, took one last sip, and then pressed out, “What about Elijah Kamski?”

“Hmm,” Nines hummed, only slightly peeved with Gavin for his coyness. “Aren’t you going to reach out to him, yet?”

…..

Eyes slowly closing, Nines was already bracing himself for an inevitable argument, but he supposed it was more or less his own cause and his own doing. He should’ve minded his own business. After all, Gavin had wisely advised him to do this a while back. Wouldn’t he ever learn his lessons?

“I will.”

The answer may as well have been a slap to the face, a bucket of ice-cold arctic water dumped over his head, or the most potent of lightning bolts striking and zipping through the top of his skull right down to his toes. In any case, the impact would’ve been the same as hearing the answer he’d been awarded.

Stunned, Nines gaped for a moment before he could compose himself long enough to snap out of his shocked state. “You will?” Was this some kind of an odd dream? There was no way Gavin was agreeing to this…

Still seated on his chair at the kitchen table, Gavin smiled. He seemed quite proud of himself as he cooed out confidently, “As much as I don’t want to, I think it’s time I gave Elijah a call, Nines. After all,” he added on while Nines approached him, “I am tired of hiding away in the dark and lettin’ that freak hold me back from moving on in my life.”

Nines was absolutely tired of that very same thing, as well. Nodding, he cried out painfully, “Gavin, I’m so sorry, I hope I didn’t—”

“You didn’t.” Blinking at him a few times as though he’d been trying to clear his vision, Gavin finally focused on Nines, practically basking in the shadows his tall, strong frame created as he stood firmly before a window. 

“It’s about time I reached out to Elijah anyway,” Gavin finished off, snickering as he jokingly added, “in fact, it’s been overdue for years, I’d say.”

“I,” Nines began, then flopped his mohawk back as he continued. “I appreciate you listening to me.”

Staring around the room while a half-grin crossed over his features, Gavin lifted a brow, and chuckled pleasantly. “Why wouldn’t I listen to you? You’re one of the wisest people I know, and you’ve only wanted the best for me, Nines.”

There was a prolonged pregnant pause before Nines caved in under Gavin’s words. The detective pointed at his teacup again, brows rising high as he gasped, “This stuff really gets you going, doesn’t it, Nines?”

…..

When the silence persisted, Gavin glanced up and saw that Nines was regarding him with a look of hungry desire. Purposefully sending such an intense look Gavin’s way, Nines knew it sent shocks of arousal to his groin, and he felt his cock twitch slightly. Gavin’s glass of tea had already been placed on the tabletop, and it was as though he had been waiting for Nines to start. Nines felt himself being pulled deeply under the man’s intense gaze, and he licked his lips in nervous anticipation. Reminding himself to be calm so he wouldn’t throw himself on top of Gavin, he lingered back, fingers and hands twitching like a bewitched scarecrow.

Boldly, Nines stood taller and crossed the distance between them in one stride. When he reached the man seated, he cupped Gavin’s face in his hands and captured his mouth in a kiss. Gavin reached up to wrap his arms around his lover’s neck, and he allowed Nines to pull him to his feet. He felt his remaining nervousness wash away, and he parted his lips in an attempt to deepen the kiss. Nines groaned softly, and he shifted his hands from Gavin’s face to slip under his fresh, dry clothes and press against his ribs, allowing his hands to slide slowly downwards, before resting on his waist. His fingers slipped under the hem of Gavin’s shirt to caress the skin stretched over his hipbones. The light contact made him shiver with anticipation and raw desire.

Gavin tried to inch closer, but Nines’ grip held him fast. He groaned softly in slight frustration, but the feeling of the gothic android’s teeth nipping at his lower lip chased the emotion from his mind. His arms clung more securely around his neck, and he extended his thumb to caress the back of the Nines’ neck, eliciting a soft groan from him in the process. Nines relished in the feeling of his lover applying pressure to his hips, forcing him to step backward and press into the wall of the sitting room, and it took a great effort on the android’s part to stifle a laugh. Coupled with what he knew of the man, it was clear that he demanded full control not just in their place of work, but in the bedroom as well.

Not that Nines was complaining. He found the action of submitting to the whims of the shorter man to be highly arousing. He attempted to relay this to Gavin with a soft groan, though it shifted to a whimper of protest as Gavin retracted his hands momentarily, only to slide them up to his shoulders, and push off Nines’ outer clothes in one smooth movement. They pooled around his feet, and he felt the once so stubborn detective’s hands move to his neck, cold fingers brushing against the heat of his skin, a sensation that made him shiver.

Nines then pulled himself back momentarily, causing Gavin to whine in protest. The man’s eyes, once reminding him so vividly of dark tunnels, were now alight with lust. He felt the same hungry desire in the pit of his stomach, and he stared his lover down, while he allowed the tip of his tongue to run over his upper lip. He grinned a little sheepishly, catching his lower lip in between his teeth.

Nines had watched the entire show of the handsome detective’s attempt at seduction, and the obvious inexperience they both shared paired with Gavin’s blatant desire coursing through his veins seemed to amuse the stoic android. Watching Gavin’s facial expressions changing rapidly with a small smirk playing across his lips was more entertaining and rapturous than he originally thought would be. Understanding that Gavin’s patience was wearing thin, Nines made it so that his most treasured love did not have to wait long before he closed the distance between them, sucking the human’s supple lower lip into his mouth, pulling another small moan from him at once. Nines could feel the smirk growing over his own mouth. He knew he was being a bit saucy and teasing his lover more than he should’ve, but Nines wasn’t feeling too remorseful and regretful when Gavin pulled him down aggressively for another kiss.

He parted his lips, extending his tongue and tasting the brandy and a ginger tea mix on the human’s tongue, and he shuddered, another moan escaping himself before he was able to stifle it. Gavin’s hot breath tickled his mouth, and Nines couldn’t help but chuckle in amusement.

Reluctant to break apart, Gavin maneuvered Nines towards the bedroom, unaware of the smirking android enjoying his barely contained enthusiasm. While Nines could still sense and feel the smallest bit of nervousness underlying Gavin’s conglomeration of other emotions, his near-painful erection straining against his dark jeans did most of the thinking for him, and he allowed himself to be led away.

Gavin gasped as Nines abruptly broke the kiss and pushed him sharply the moment they were fully inside the bedroom. Eyes wide, Gavin yelped in surprise, losing his balance and landing on his lover’s bed. He narrowed his eyes a little, but before he could comment on it, Nines was on him again, pushing his cool hands underneath Gavin’s clean shirt and slowly peeling it away from his skin. He trailed wet, hungry kisses up the smaller male’s abdomen while Gavin squirmed beneath him, helping Nines remove the obstructive garment while he blindly kicked off his shoes.

Jeans suddenly removed, Nines saw his own abruptly disappear somewhere over Gavin’s shoulder. He helped his partner shimmy to the center of the bed before kissing him again. The sharp movements had knocked Gavin back, his shoulders digging into the mattress deeply. The bedsprings gave out a groan of protest. As he reached up to fix their current position so that Nines wasn’t the one on top, the clever, swift android beat him to it, adjusting both their bodies very gently. Instead of Gavin being on top or Nines being the one on top, Nines settled for sharing a bit of an equal view and standing. He simply lay himself on his side, and Gavin thankfully did the same.

Now that they were in front of each other, they were suddenly open and bare. Like two adolescents fumbling around this for the first time, they could only gape into each other’s eyes for a moment. It was sheer innocence, and as it stared back and hit them both, they broke eye contact. Gavin blushed, and Nines played with a loose thread in the bed sheets. Still utterly innocent in his first approach, Nines established some contact after a few stretched-out minutes by trailing his fingers along Gavin’s arm. Landing right on his shoulder, eventually, he could only glance up for a moment before his lips automatically sought out the warmer ones of Gavin’s.

Gavin settled into the prurient kiss and reached up to fumble with the buttons of Nines’ shirt. It was clear the other man was in no rush, but Nines found himself smirking as he watched Gavin struggle to unclasp them one by one, his fingers seemingly refusing to cooperate with what his mind wanted them to do.

With a huff, Gavin reached to fist the fabric he had already opened, when Nines’ voice stopped him short. “Wait a moment, Gavin…” Grabbing his partner’s hand, next, Nines guided Gavin’s hand lower, and he gently pressed it against his smooth, hairless chest just above his dark tattoo stretched out from one side of his sternum to the next. “I want you to undress me without rushing, because I’m not going away anymore.”

Hushing him, Gavin then caught his lower lip between his teeth and looked up at the sexually charged android, who was watching his lover struggle with the buttons, his eyes glimmering with amusement. Gavin huffed a little in frustration, and with fumbling fingers he unclasped the buttons, one by one.

Finally, he’d finished with the damnable buttons, and Nines shrugged out of his shirt. Relishing in how Gavin groaned with pleasure at the sight before himself, Nines observed Gavin’s passion reflecting back in his eyes. In the faint lights, Nines knew how he looked. Alabaster skin stretched taut over lean, corded features standing out like muscles, and long, powerful legs that no doubt made Gavin swoon. By comparison, however, he found that Gavin’s body was a titillating thing to lust after and behold, and tiny amounts of jealousy swept into the RK900’s system the longer he studied Gavin’s form. A fine dusting of dark hairs trailing down the center of his stomach before disappearing into his boxers caught his attention. Gavin leaned forward and placed a delicate, open-mouthed kiss upon the hollow of Nines’ throat. Evidently, delivering such a soft kiss gave cause for the human to shudder a little under his inexperienced touch.

Emboldened by the reaction, Nines shifted and allowed himself to be pressed down into the coverlet, with Gavin perched lightly upon his waist. He leaned forward again, and trailed slow, wet kisses down his android partner’s chest, pausing to trace the edge of each nipple with the tip of his tongue. Nines smirked when he felt, rather than heard the man’s reaction—a hardness pressing into his inner thigh. It took every ounce of his self-control to maintain the slow, visual exploration of Gavin’s chest, and keep from diving mouth-first between his legs after tearing his sweaty, damp boxers clean off his lower body. He didn’t wish to scare Gavin off, as he’d usually topped and dominated him in the bedroom far too often. As new as this experience was, Nines wished to see how far Gavin would take it.

Once past the ribs, Gavin dragged the tip of his tongue down the center of Nines’ abdomen, dipped it into where his navel should’ve been had he not been created as a different species. Glancing up quickly, as though curious, when their eyes met, Nines only smirked and pushed down on the back of Gavin’s head to encourage him to keep going. Internally, Nines wished he could’ve somehow ceased being rough in bed, but Gavin didn’t appear to fight back or mind it. His lips and tongue continued roaming and paused when the obtrusive fabric of Nines’ bondage-styled boxers with silver, metallic clasps and buckles got in the way of him continuing. In the brief moment that he stopped, Nines lifted his head off of the bed and gave his lover an exceptionally dangerous glare. Knowing he held some of the cards, Gavin merely smirked in response, and took his time unbuttoning the garment, and sliding it off of Nines, along with his socks, last.

The android who was struggling to maintain his self-control and calm shuddered slightly when his cock was freed from his confines. Gavin couldn’t help but feel his stomach somersault at the sight: Long and thick, with a dewdrop of pre-come resting upon its tip. The visual beauties pleased Gavin. He licked his lips while Nines sat up and shifted to the edge of the bed. Moving his lover along with himself, Nines made it so that Gavin slid off the bed and fell to his knees between his long legs. Flushing, Gavin looked up briefly into his partner’s eyes, and the intense look of desire and seduction he saw there made him shiver. He bit down on his own lip for a brief moment to stifle his excited grin, then sat up and swallowed his partner’s cock once the underwear came off.

Given the girth and large size of Nines’ thick cock, Gavin was clearly taking his time with it. Nines was aware that cock-sucking was still something of a new experience for them both, which was why he wasn’t displeased when Gavin was able to only swallow about two-thirds of his heavy member before he could barely take more in to brush at the back of his throat. Always mindful to reward his partner’s efforts with either a deep, throaty moan of utmost pleasure, or grazing his long finger through Gavin’s hair, Nines purred at Gavin in nothing short of delight.

Encouraged, Gavin coiled his hand around the base, and pumped him as he bobbed his head. Nines groaned above him and he continuously ran a hand gently through his partner’s hair.

As sweet nothings slipped through Nines’ lips, Gavin maintained his rhythm as best as he could, breathing heavily through his nose as the cock wept into the back of his throat. After several minutes, his effort was rewarded when Nines tangled his long fingers in his hair, and with a sharp gasp he released into the back of Gavin’s throat.

Gavin only grimaced a little due to being caught unaware of the sudden orgasm he drew out of his lover, but swallowed it down, suckling until Nines’ cock began to soften, and he reluctantly pulled back. Nines had fallen back onto the bed, his chest heaving. Emboldened, Gavin crawled up to join him, grinning at his eximious handiwork as he observed the man, the faintest of a flush in his cheeks, his eyes closed as he basked in the moment. Aware that Gavin was still painfully hard, Nines could not resist the temptation of his lover’s exposed skin and leaned in to lick and kiss his way across Gavin’s clavicle and up his neck, before placing a feather-light kiss upon his lips. Nines then rested a hand on the back of Gavin’s neck, and deepened the kiss, just enough to pull another soft moan from the smaller man.

Suddenly, Nines rose off the bed, turning so that Gavin’s back was pressed into the cover, and the strong android boxed him in with his arms. Gavin reached up to wrap his arms around his neck, but Nines seemed to have sensed his intention, and reached out and caught Gavin’s wrists in his hands so he could pin them above his head. Nines could practically feel the shock of desire shooting to his lover’s groin, and he delightfully took in the sweet sounds of Gavin moaning into his mouth when their lips pressed flush together. He squirmed a little, and Nines tightened his grip slightly, though nowhere near enough for it to be considered painful.

He broke the kiss after a moment and regarded Gavin with an intense, calculating stare. The detective’s face was flushed, and he arched his back a little, intending to grind himself into the other man, but Nines smirked impishly and moved, making it impossible for Gavin to find the friction he so desired. He groaned in frustration, feeling Nines’ hands on his wrists deliciously restricting his movements, but driving him insane with frustration at the same time. “Damn it,” he muttered, staring up at the android he loved very much through half-lidded eyes. “Do _something_.”

With a flick of his powerful hands, Nines caused Gavin’s wrists to spring apart, and he coiled them at once around his own neck. He curled one leg around his waist, too, while the eager detective ground his hips upwards into the RK900’s half hard cock. The contact made Nines’ breath hitch, and with a near animalistic growl, he deepened the kiss with almost violent force.

In response, Gavin arched his body upwards, his skin, damp with sweat, clung to Nines’ in the most delightful fashion. The movement succeeded in pulling another groan from the strong man. He was fully erect once again, and his cock ground against Gavin’s, the human trembling at the sensation. Unable to wait any longer, Nines untangled himself from his heated, sweaty lover, and flipped him over.

At once, Gavin eagerly pulled his knees up, lifting his buttocks into the air invitingly. He could have sworn that he heard Nines chuckle at his eagerness. Another murmured love confession flew forth between them, and Nines could feel Gavin watching him hungrily as he went to fetch a small of lubricant from across the room. Now that it lay directly in Nines’ hands, one of the android’s exquisite fingers, wet with lubricant, tickled the cleft of his lover’s ass, making him shiver. With renewed courage, Gavin rolled over and braced himself on all fours, his head bowed forward as his half-white-half-dark brown hair dangled precariously from the top of his scalp over his forehead and eyes.

Pausing to loom over his lover, Nines bestowed a most gentle kiss on the center of Gavin’s spine. “I really like the view you’re providing me with, Gavin…”

The digit moved again, smearing a light coating of the lube upon Gavin’s puckered entrance, and he gasped softly. He lifted himself higher, a silent urging for his lover to continue. The finger breached Gavin’s anus and he groaned, shuddering in delight. The reactions he showed off to Nines was leaps and bounds better than his fantasies had ever been, and he made a quick mental note to always try and get Gavin on all fours at least four times a week.

Gently, Nines allowed the finger to rest in place for a moment, before sliding it in and out experimentally, then adding a second. Gavin moaned softly, his breath coming out in soft gasps. Of course, this was hardly his first time being prepped this way, but damn, the man was good with his hands. Nines slipped in the third finger quickly, thrusting them in and out of Gavin much more slowly than was really necessary, but he enjoyed it all the same. His human lover moaned appreciatively with each thrust, moving his hips in time with the passionate android’s movements.

Nearly crumbling apart, Nines could hear the ragged breathing beneath himself grow more pronounced, and he felt the bed shift as Gavin pressed back. Carefully, Nines removed his fingers and positioned himself at Gavin’s hole, feeling his partner prepared enough. The brief moment of hesitation made Gavin groan in heavy want. Frustrated, he shifted backwards slightly, pressing himself into the tip of Nines’ cock, a silent demand for the man to get on with it. That seemed to be all the encouragement he needed, as Nines gripped Gavin’s strong hips, and slid slowly into him.

Gavin immediately threw his head back, his breath caught in his throat. His mind was a garbled mess of sensation, leaving no room for coherent thought. Even though Nines had taken time in adequately preparing him, he was still unprepared for the sheer girth of the man. It seared, but not excruciatingly so, and the android moved so slowly and carefully that Gavin was able to ride the crest of the pain easily. Nines was swooning with delight upon entering Gavin. The rest of his motions were like a dream. He felt himself pressing a light kiss press into the space between his lover’s shoulder blades, and he sighed softly. Nines paused when he was fully inside, giving Gavin time to acclimate to him.

When Gavin felt ready, he gave a minute nod. Nines slid out, and thrust back in just as slowly, with Gavin moving his hips in time with the slow movements, small moans escaping him with each thrust. Panting, a desperate Gavin moved one hand to stroke himself, but Nines stopped him short. His hand gently wrapped around Gavin’s wrist, effectively stilling his movements. The other male whined in frustration; the vocalization punctuated with short gasps as his dominant lover continued his rhythmic movements and offered no verbal explanation. The second Gavin relented and pressed his palm back down into the coverlet, Nines readjusted his position and brushed Gavin’s prostate with his next potent thrust.

Gavin’s entire body went rigid, and he sucked in a sharp breath. The second hit caused the ardent male to moan much more loudly, pressing back harder into the deep thrusts of his lover, who chuckled and took the hint, speeding up his thrusts in time with Gavin’s jerking hips. With each motion, Gavin vocalized his approval, with grunts, moans, and choked words of ‘yes’, ‘more,’ and ‘oh, God,’. Gavin was only vaguely aware of his body’s reactions and the words pouring from his lips, his consciousness drowning in a haze of pleasure.

Nines’ movements soon became more erratic due to how Gavin’s cooing chirked him on, and Gavin gasped when he felt the android’s sensual hand shift from his hip to coil around his cock. He palmed Gavin in time with his own thrusts, and groaning, Gavin came for the first time that evening, sputtering over his stomach, the bedspread, and his partner’s hand. His cries seemed to have pushed Nines over the edge. With a deep, rancorous growl emitting from the most hidden pavilion housing his feelings for Gavin, he released into his lover thickly before slumping forward, and the pair fell bonelessly onto the duvet.

They lay there, a messy tangle of limbs and bodily fluids, their chests heaving, and skin flushed. Gavin felt as though the world could have ended around himself and he would have died happily all the same. Slowly, Nines slid his softened member out of his lover, and slid off the weary human to rest at his side, with an arm coiling tentatively around his waist. He pulled Gavin close, who he eased into the embrace with a contented sigh, grinning a little when he felt Nines’ soft kiss press to the back of his neck. He felt a tingle near his groin and looked down to see the mess his orgasm had left behind gone; Nines was gently cleaning him.

Watching him for a few minutes in silence, Gavin closed his eyes and succumbed to the sounds of the late evening outside the apartment. His light breathing nearly lulled Nines into slowing down his movements so he could gaze at his near-asleep partner.

Vowing to do that, Nines hurriedly cleaned himself off, and slowly inched off the bed. He had barely taken two steps, when Gavin shifted, and the mattress groaned beneath his body.

“I’ve decided that I’m _not_ gonna let Kamski attend our wedding,” came the random statement that nearly threw Nines down to the floor.

Completely baffled by the announcement of a wedding he of course was going to participate in, yet had no idea about until now, he gasped, “Wedding?! You mean you want to m-marry me?!” Realizing how insane that sounded, he swiftly added, “Gavin, we’re already married! You don’t have to—”

“Yes, I do,” came the argument as Gavin rolled himself onto his stomach and stared up at Nines almost far too innocently for the android to handle. “Nines, we never had a ceremony…I mean a _proper _one.” Gazing away as he broke eye contact, then, his voice came out small as he whispered weakly, “I mean…don’t you want one?”

Did he want one?! Nines wanted that more than life itself!! Completely in awe over the fact that it’d been Gavin who suggested it, first, the android raced back to the bed, and very draped his long arms around Gavin’s body. Hugging the man to his chest protectively, he kissed the top of his head more than ten times before he repeatedly cooed the same words out.

“Yes, I do, I do, yes.”

_Thank you, Gavin Reed. _

The man had been responsible for bringing to him yet again such a sweet, happy moment he couldn’t even begin to imagine was probable. As his fingers combed through Gavin’s hair, the other man softly asked, “We don’t have to invite him, right Nines? I mean, I promise I’ll try to patch things up with him, but then, we don’t need to see him anymore…”

“Whatever you want, I’ll always work hard to try and provide it for you, my love.”

Nuzzling against him, Gavin whispered, “You promise?”

Gazing at him longingly, Nines rasped with all the heaviness in his thirium pump. “I promise you that I will do everything possible in the world so that Elijah Kamski never attends our wedding. Don’t you worry about that, my love.”

_My dearest Gavin Reed, now, you’re safe with me. Finally. This is the way it should always be. _


	78. All That Remains

Nines stayed out of the way the next week while Gavin planned to reach out to Elijah. Understanding just how much pressure the detective was under, Nines did his best to put in an extra effort around the apartment. He cleaned things up the moment he found the slightest bit of an unorderly mess, he did the dishes routinely, always made sure the laundry was done, and even massaged Gavin’s back, arms, and legs whenever he could. He found that the results were miraculous. Gavin didn’t snap at him half as much, and he even set to work contacting his father’s friend and family lawyer, Jeremy Hamilton.

The man provided Gavin with Elijah’s direct home number, which was hidden away from the public due to his popularity, as well as for his own safety and protection. Jeremy only advised Gavin that initially, Elijah would do anything in his power to try and dissuade them from talking, as well as visiting. The jesuitical man’s walls were apparently built as thickly and strongly in a fortress of his own creation, much like Gavin’s…

Although this should’ve discouraged anyone else in such a position, Gavin felt even more charged to go through with it. He felt he shared a lot in common with Elijah’s facinorous stance, and with the same levels of understanding, there could possibly be a way to convince the man.

Once he had Elijah’s private number, Gavin dialed routinely until he got an answer. At first, Elijah’s secretaries constantly answered, which hadn’t been much of a surprise to either Nines or Gavin but served more as an obstacle of sorts. It appeared as though Elijah was expecting for his step sibling to reach out this way, and he’d already had his ducks lined a row. The battlefield had been smartly prepared, but Gavin wasn’t one to ever give up.

Day by day, he rang Elijah, even switching up the hours until one day, he got his answer.

It was Elijah who’d picked up, surprisingly, and as he did, Gavin immediately put the call on speaker so Nines could hear it, too.

Elijah’s siccaneous voice rang out perfectly, without the slightest bit of fear or concern.

“Yes?”

For a moment, Gavin was stunned. Frozen stiff, he allowed Nines to gently help him settle on one of the dark sofas before he could even breathe. His face was as white as the freshly painted ceiling, and although he looked spooked, he eventually blinked, moistened his lips, and inhaled deeply. He was ready to speak, and Nines was well aware that it took all of Gavin’s nerves and courage to begin facing his fears, things he despised, and things that truly made him uncomfortable.

This was a big step, and he wasn’t ungrateful.

Rubbing and massaging his partner’s back and shoulders in what he hoped was a genuine move of support and comfort, he remained at Gavin’s side, trying to prove to him that he was going to be here no matter what. Regardless of whatever happened, Nines’ feelings for his partner would never vacillate.

Chin and jaw quivering, Gavin finally managed to croak out, “I…It’s Gavin…Gavin Reed…”

After a pause, Elijah chuckled, “I don’t know any other Gavin, so it’s wise to assume I know who you are.” Sniffling, then, he growled, “What is it you want?”

Blinking once, Gavin held onto his courage, clasped his hands together, and glared down at the coffee table where his phone rested. “I want to see you.”

“Hmm,” came the deep grumble of a man clearly pondering the idea. “Alright…switching to video.”

This truly startled both Nines and Gavin. The detective hadn’t spoken to or seen his step sibling in almost two decades, and he began nervously fidgeting. Staring over at Nines constantly as though seeking validation and permission, when Nines held onto one of his hands and squeezed gently, Gavin rasped, “O-okay, I’m here…do it.”

A few seconds later, the phone vibrated, and the screen blew up in their faces with the image of Elijah Kamski…and the man was doing a set of pushups. He was clearly in his own private gym, the tools and equipment about himself standing expansively. They were top quality, super expensive, no doubt, and he was really working up a sweat as he moved above his thick yoga mat. His hair was pushed back in a tight bun on top of his skull, and he inhaled, exhaled, inhaled, and then exhaled as his eyes remained tightly shut.

With Gavin wallowing nervously, the sound evidently was loud enough to rouse Elijah’s attention to make eye contact for the first time. His eyes opened widely, and he peered directly into the screen as his fears and concerns evanished. His eyes established a connection immediately, and he searched through Gavin’s eyes before peering over at Nines. With a huff, he inched back on his knees, breaking out of the pushup position.

Snapping his fingers, Elijah nodded at someone off-camera, and at once, a little clean towel had been tossed at him. Snatching it up in his fingers swiftly, he wiped his sweaty face with it.

Rolling his eyes, Gavin sighed, “Got people to do your bidding at your beck and call, huh??”

Ignoring him, Elijah stood up, draped the little towel over his shoulder, and then stretched as his black flannel shorts swished about. Once he’d stretched himself enough, he got back down on the mat, lifted his legs up together, and then slowly began performing Russian Twists.

Feeling annoyance mounting in his system, Nines spat impatiently, “Are we required to sit here and watch you go through your entire exercise routine? Because, if that’s the case, then I’m going to just lea—”

Pausing abruptly midway the thirteenth repetition of the tough exercise, Elijah’s lifeless, nefastous blue eyes wandered up and down Nines’ upper torso. Craning his neck so he could see the android better, Elijah squinted before he pointed a slightly curved finger and lowered his legs back down to the mat.

“Hey,” he grumbled as he panted lightly while seated in a ‘resting position, “I remember you perfectly…”

Scoffing for a moment, Nines snapped, “I don’t know you, so your powers of manipulation won’t work on me.”

It of course didn’t need to be said that Nines knew very well of Elijah Kamski. To deny it would be truly a falsidical statement. The man was responsible for creating him, as well as all others like himself; androids. In a way, Nines fearfully admitted that Elijah Kamski was as close to him as a ‘father’ could be. The nature of that relationship didn’t appear to him in a dulcifluous manner, but he couldn’t say they ever were formally introduced or had even chatted until now. All else when it came Elijah- the **cynosure**-was just whatever he heard and saw on the news, and that was it. So, how could Elijah claim that he remembered him??

Smirking far too confidently like a shark, Elijah sat firmly on his behind and folded his arms down in his lap. With a perfunctory nod at Nines, he rasped, “Oh yes, CyberLife often ensures that an android’s memories are totally wiped by the time it hits the market, so of course, I didn’t expect for you to remember a thing about me…” His finger wagged at the screen as though he were scolding a naughty child, then.

A rather puckish gleam shined forth from his eyes, and he snickered, “I remember you…I remember you. You gave majority of my technicians a lot of trouble because you are the closest thing to be a human we ever designed and created…so complicated…”

Snarling at the screen wildly, Nines jeered, “It doesn’t matter; I’d _never_ even want to get to know you had it not been for him.” Holding onto Gavin’s shoulders, then, he added with contempt, “I’m doing this for _him_, and I’d appreciate it if you cut the bullshit and games.”

Feeling Gavin’s breathing regulating and calming down significantly, he knew he’d done the right thing.

Turning his nose snobbishly up at them, Elijah sighed out, “What’s your name, anyway?” Quickly, he supplied as he stood up, “Not that it matters a lot, but I’m curious as to what the hell your angle is in all this.”

It was a fair thing to ask, and Nines decided to come clean with his intentions.

Holding onto Gavin’s hand tightly so Elijah was able to see it, he turned Gavin’s hand around so the ring was more than clearly visible. Right at once, the irreverent android creator threw his head back and laughed. Losing himself to rounds of impertinent chortles that were quite rude and inappropriate, he craned his neck down when he couldn’t take it anymore, though his body still shook as the tremors of his laughter racked him.

Nines hissed, “I’m glad you find it amusing, but I don’t; my name is Nines, I love Gavin, I plan on being with him for as long as possible, and he feels the _exact_ same way about me!”

Blushing, Gavin shyly squeaked, “Nines, I—”

“And I want for _you_ to stop fucking around,” Nines carried on, quite aggressively in order to hammer his point home. “Just give Gavin what he deserves; what was his all this time! You have _no_ right to keep it yourself!!!”

As they both glared at the screen minaciously, a thought suddenly slammed into Nines’ head like a wrecking ball breaking down a magnificently tall building. That very same thought had been solidified firmly when he gazed seriously at Elijah’s insolent eyes and was met with the intense, glowering look that set his mind ablaze.

His jaw fell open involuntarily, almost. “You mean…you _don’t_ actually want it?”

Elijah stared down at the floor as he replied, “No. I don’t. I have absolutely no use for it…not now, not ever.”

And like that, the anger had returned to both Nines and Gavin.

“Stop playing games!” Gavin roared almost on the brink of his own implosion. “You know very well what my mother and father have requested, and if you have _any_ respect and damn decency, you’ll let this go once and for all!!”

Would Elijah finally agree to this? Nines had to wonder, but he stroked Gavin’s back, a slight move of encouragement to the other man for being brave enough to speak the way he had.

Tapping a finger on his bearded chin, Elijah pondered it for a moment, his eyes sweeping back and forth between Nines and Gavin for some time. His eyes flashed dangerously, and Nines assumed he was cooking up another nasty plan. However, he willingly sat there next to Gavin in pure silence, with the hopes that maybe, _maybe_ Elijah Kamski wasn’t the monster he worked hard to be…

Maybe…

Finally, someone off-camera whispered, and Elijah held up his hand at them to cut them off. A door closed, and then at last when he was alone, Elijah smiled ever so sweetly at them both.

Wiping his hands on his shorts, he grunted, “I will do as you wish, Gavin…but on _one_ condition only…”

Gavin trembled violently, but he still asked, “And what’s that condition?”

Not even hesitating, Elijah ground out, “You need to come here to me. Let me meet you,” shifting, he grabbed his phone, and then took off his running shoes. Kicking them to the side, he rolled his neck about, no doubt stretching out the muscles calmly as he carried on in a neutral tone. “Come to the house, and like two grown men, we will talk it out. Do this, and I swear to you, I won’t bother you and your lover anymore.”

Eyebrows rising, Gavin tentatively pushed out, “You…you promise?”

“My word is my bond; is yours?”

Gavin nodded, “It is.”

“Deal.”

“Deal,” Elijah smirked confidently. “I’ll send you my address, and a day and time. If you don’t show up, then I’m afraid this would’ve been the first and _last _time we spoke.”

They were clear, and Gavin gave one last nod before disconnecting.

*x*x*x*x*x*

Friday, May 17th was when they’d planned the trip. Contrary to popular rumors, Elijah Kamski didn’t live in one place. He actually owned a dispendious manor simply called ‘Kamski Manor’, and it was located at least half a day’s worth of a drive away from Nines’ apartment. They packed and left almost around eight that morning, as Nines had checked the weather and reported that a storm was on the way…

Nines drove first, address already perfectly in his mind while Gavin rested in the passenger seat. They stopped for a quick lunch break, and then were back on the highway. After fiddling around pointlessly with the radio, Gavin was clearly unable to settle on one station. Nines was utterly shocked that Gavin’s favored bands such as _Behemoth_, _Korn, Kamelot, _and _Nightwish_ weren’t doing much for him, unfortunately. With a low, frustrated growl, he shut the music off completely, and then turned to glower out the window.

The sky was a blue-grey tinge, and it loomed high above as the wind picked up and blew leaves, rocks, and grass blades in the air. Everything looked so gloomy and miserable, and Nines wished it wasn’t so. No doubt, the ambiance wasn’t catering to Gavin working his way into a more positive mood.

Reaching with his right hand towards the other man, Nines tenderly touched the back of his lover’s hand; a poignant move. “You alright?”

Gavin’s fingers curled around his own. “Just nervous,” he admitted. “It sucks, but I think that’s what he wants, honestly.”

“I wouldn’t put it past him,” Nines commented back. “But whatever his plans are, you need to try and relax yourself, love.”

With a weak cry, Gavin emitted, “I’m trying, Nines!” His brows furrowed, and he shook his head while throwing his hands up into the air helplessly. “I don’t even know where to start!!”

Nines didn’t, either, but for the sake of comforting his one true love, he skipped turning into a doryphore, and instead took to kissing the back of Gavin’s hand. While they drove on, Gavin turned to the left so he could access the driver’s seat more, and he delivered his own sweet butterfly kisses to the android’s hand. The lands ahead were divaricating from farmhouse to farmhouse, establishment to establishment. A few abandoned old buildings stood among the clouds proudly, in spite of being worn out and decrepit. Perhaps if the wind blew strongly enough, the fortresses would collapse…

Gavin huffed out a breath, his mind divagating from his troubles. Eyes still pointedly gazing outside as the first few fat raindrops splattered on the windshield and windows, he formulated a single thought. “I think what my dad did when Elijah and I were so young messed both of us up pretty badly.”

Almost missing what he’d stated the first time due to the thunder clashing across the sky, Nines perked up as he repeated, “Messed you two up?” The android pondered this idea, and he while he agreed that Elijah Kamski was one heck of an eccentric man, to label him as ‘messed up’ seemed out of proportion…perhaps.

“Yes,” came the affirmation a second later, “I kept thinkin’ about this for a while, Nines, because it was really buggin’ me.” Playing with a loose thread in his sweater, Gavin leaned his head against the window, facial expression softening as the knots in his stomach lessened. “I kept thinkin’ that what if Elijah only turned out the way he did because of my dad’s influence on his family life?”

Trying to follow along, Nines asked, “You mean in regard to interfering?”

Gavin frowned as he considered it, and then shook his head. “No,” he demurred, “I mean that my dad tore his family apart, too…what if things were different?”

What if, indeed.

Peering back into his own dark, lucrative past, Nines found himself wondering the same thing. Turning on the windshield wipers, he calmly threw back at Gavin, “I have been asking the very same question for a while now, Gavin.”

“Glad we’re on the same page, then…”

The wind howled outside, and it blew against the vehicle with such gust and force that it rocked the machine for a moment.

“Shit!” Nines hissed thinly, squinting about as he scanned the skies above. “We shouldn’t stick around here for too long; the storm’s gonna be really bad!!”

Luck was on their side, thankfully. When they exited the highway, the first building they came across was a large hotel. Apparently, a lot of rooms were still vacant at this hour, and as Nines and Gavin exchanged a few quick glances, they made their decision right then and there.

Nines found a parking spot in no time, and as he shielded mostly Gavin from the rain by using his trench coat as a makeshift umbrella, he heard Gavin faintly asking him, “Will you always love me? Even when I’m old, grey, and useless?”

The wind blew violently against the rooftops and trees, and thunder booming across the lands dissuaded Nines from answering for the time being. Gavin-mistakenly thinking that Nines was ignoring him-ran ahead and held open the door, a sour look upon his face the entire time.

Little did he know that Nines had heard his question, and he was storing it away in his mind to come back to it…soon.

*x*x*x*x*x*

Alone at last, once they’d removed their coats, Nines and Gavin were at the mercy of their attraction and desire for one another.

The moment that their lips met, the carefully stoked embers of desire quickly became a conflagration of passion. Gavin whimpered, Nines moaned in response, each holding tightly to the other, trying to get closer. Nines soon had Gavin backed against the door, gripping him by the ass and strongly lifting. Gavin quickly understood what his lover wanted, and opened his legs, wrapping them around the android’s firm hips, allowing Nines the leverage he needed to thrust and rub their erections together. Even through the layers of clothing, the friction was exquisite.

Gavin soon wrenched his mouth away from Nines, panting and gasping for breath, moaning and whimpering at the sensations that were coursing throughout his body. Nines’ mouth moved to the other man’s neck, nipping and sucking at the sensitive flesh as his hips continued to grind against Gavin so deliciously. The sexiest sounds Nines had ever heard were coming out of Gavin’s mouth as his rapturous reward for all the right moves he was pulling. Gavin’s tremulous voice made Nines swoon, and he bestowed even more sensual touches along his partner’s heated body. It all sent shivers down Gavin’s spine, straight to his cock.

Within a few tacent minutes, Gavin cried out in ecstasy as he came, his limbs tightening around his lover as his body trembled in release. Nines stilled his movements, taking Gavin’s mouth in a loving kiss as the shorter male came down from his high. Here was the gentle tasting, the curious exploration, and the tenderness that had been missing moments before.

Nines finally pulled away from the kiss and allowed Gavin’s legs to be lowered to the floor, firmly holding onto the smaller man until he was standing steadily on his own. As Gavin gained feelings in his feet, he became aware that Nines’ cock was still hard.

“Nines?” he questioned, “you didn’t—” He was silenced by a callused finger laid softly against his lips. Blue-black eyes gazed intently into blue-grey depths, and Nines smiled gently at his passionate lover before sweeping him up into his arms and striding determinedly to the back of the bedroom.

Gavin nearly started to weep at the tenderness that was obvious in the smile bestowed upon him, then gasped as he was lifted as easily as though he was only eight years old instead of thirty-eight. As Nines carried him towards the desk in their room, Gavin thought longingly of the comfort of a bed. However, if Nines truly wanted to take him on the desk, Gavin found he wasn’t going to argue at this point. Thankfully, Nines only continued past the desk to halt in the rear corner of the room. He appeared to be indecisive, and Gavin found it charming. When Nines glanced down and saw the intense concentration on his lover’s face, he knew that Gavin was casting a few wishes of what it was he wanted them to do.

Quite cheeky, of course. If Gavin thought he was in charge, then he had another surprise waiting for him…

The highly enticed, vafrous android assiduously carried his burden effortlessly out of the main room they’d rented above, down the staircase, through the empty hotel’s sitting room, and all the way into a vacant bedroom specifically reserved for a couple’s honeymoon suite. Quickly, he deposited Gavin on his feet next to the largest four-poster bed that they both had ever seen. Gavin’s eyes vaguely registered a color scheme of golden earth tones, but his attention was focused on the tall android at his feet, carefully untying and removing Gavin’s jeans and socks.

When Nines rose, he quickly removed Gavin’s raincoat and efficiently stripped him of his sweater and t-shirt. Reaching behind his short lover, he swept the covers to the foot of the bed, then gently wrapped his arms around the trembling man. Gavin rested his hands lightly on Nines’ glabrous shoulders, while Nines’ fingers trailed slowly, softly, down the indent of Gavin’s spine, raising gooseflesh in their wake. Nines took Gavin’s mouth once more. Tasting. Exploring. Arousing. Gavin whimpered softly in response and pressed himself closer, but Nines’ hands remained teasingly soft on the detective’s back.

Just when Gavin thought he could no longer take the teasing, Nines broke the kiss, moving his mouth sensually across the smooth jaw. Gavin’s eyes closed as the pleasure overwhelmed his senses. Nines took his time, tasting the tender flesh of the throat arched so invitingly for him. Then down to one shoulder. He nibbled along the length of the collarbone before slowly descending to one dusky pink nipple, his attentions wringing a cry from the body trembling in his arms. He licked and nipped his way across to the other nipple. Hands tangled in his hair, grasping for balance. Slowly moving down the pale stomach, he kneeled once more before his highly aroused lover, his hands gripping gently where thigh met ass, holding the body still as he mouthed the hard cock through the fabric of the underwear, inhaling the strong musk of Gavin’s earlier release.

“Anhhh!! Ninesss!!” Gavin cried out, his eyes flying open and down to see the heated, black gaze focused intently on his face. He reached out and gently pushed a few stray locks of ebony hair away from the slightly pale face of his lover, carefully tucking the silky fine strands behind an ear. He lovingly caressed one high cheekbone, then hoarsely whispered, “More…”

Upon hearing such a desperate plea, Nines’ eyes closed tightly as a shudder passed through his frame. When he opened them a moment later, he was completely focused on enjoying the feeling of Gavin unbuckling the belt before him. His own jeans and boxers were quickly stripped down and off, to be carelessly tossed to the side. In response, he slid a finger deftly beneath the band of Gavin’s underwear, and he pulled it down. Due to the force he applied, he tore the cotton a little.

He paused for a moment to admire the ruddy cock of his lover in front of himself, so ripe for the taking. It had lovely proportions, slim and firm and tapered to a lovely acorn-shaped head, which was, at that moment, slowly leaking; a temptation that Nines was not about to resist. Sinking down to his knees, his tongue reached out to catch the salty-sweet drop, then proceeded to clean every trace of seed from cock, belly and balls. Each stroke of his tongue was answered by moans and whimpers from above, and he triumphed in every sound he was able to coax from his lover’s lips.

By the time Nines had finished cleaning away all evidence of Gavin’ prior orgasm, the smaller man was leaning heavily on him, so overwhelmed by sensation that he was no longer able to support himself. Nines carefully lifted Gavin into the center of the large bed, and then covered the naked male with his own half-clothed body. Gavin squirmed and arched underneath his larger lover, but Nines allowed his weight to pin Gavin, not enough to crush him, but enough to restrain him as he gently kissed the detective and ran his fingers tenderly through his hair, giving him time to calm down somewhat before continuing.

After several moments, Gavin was in control of himself again, and looked deeply into Nines; eyes, before demanding, “Get n-naked, Nines. Now.”

Wanting to please, Nines dropped a quick kiss to Gavin’s scarred nose before lifting himself off of the bed and starting to remove the last bits of his clothes still clinging onto his form stubbornly.

Gavin propped himself up on his elbows and watched with hooded eyes as Nines stripped the black clothes from his body. Pale skin emerged. Long, lean muscles; not an ounce of fat anywhere to be seen. Broad shoulders, narrow hips, long legs. An extremely aroused cock that was somewhat larger than Gavin’s always would be, and just as he had imagined something quite substantial in the past if he ever wished to take on a male lover.

“Damn, Nines,” Gavin moaned, taking in every detail of the fit, strong body that could have easily belonged to a much more deserving man. Then he chuckled wryly, “If you hadn’t been so weird all the time before we got together, I’d have jumped you years ago in the DPD, and I wouldn’t have given a shit who would be able to see!!!” He thought for a moment, then his eyes narrowed, “Actually, I should be grateful for your appallingly piss poor social skills and weirdness; I wouldn’t have liked queuing up for your attentions, dude.”

Nines only smirked in reply, but it wasn’t in a typically ‘pre-deviant’ Nines, sneer that always used to present forth an air of: I’m going to be a vicious fuck about this and say I don’t give a bloody motherfuck what you think about it,’ majority of the time. The way he was smirking at Gavin now was more of a sexually anticipatory, ‘I can’t wait to get my hands on you and fuck you through the mattress’ kind of smirk.

Nines saw how Gavin’s cock twitched in response to the unspoken promise behind the smirk and he held out his arms to his lover; there was far too much distance between them. Nines quickly answered Gavin’s invitation, gathering the human into his arms and claiming his mouth in another heated, possessive kiss. Gavin wrapped his legs around Nines’ waist. They were pressed too closely for friction, but he couldn’t prevent the movement of his hips, trying to press his hard cock along Nines’ hot length.

Rough, callused hands ran lovingly across smooth, feverish skin, lingering in the areas that elicited gasps of pleasure; the tender spot beneath the ear, the nipples that were now hard little peaks, the soft area just below the jutting hipbone…Gavin could do little more than cling to his lover as Nines explored his body, finding every erogenous zone, coaxing his arousal higher and higher.

The impatient RK900 urged one of Gavin’s legs back to the bed and rolled them to their sides, then pulled Gavin’s leg over his own hip, giving him easier access to his target. Gavin gasped in pleasure when Nines’ strong fingers found their way to the hot, sensitive skin surrounding his puckered entrance, and he thrust helplessly against the maddeningly light touch.

“Nines!” he moaned as he felt Nines whispering something incoherent against his nipple. “Ugh-please, ohpleaseohplea—” His begging was halted, and his body stilled in shock as he felt the odd sensation of cool slickness flowing forth from where a single fingertip was pressed just inside his rear entrance. He stared into the blue orbs focused intently on his face. Jaw dropping, Gavin murmured pathetically, “Holy f-fuck, that’s not something you’ve done to me a lot…” he managed after getting his breath back.

Head tilted up, the ceiling and windows entered his vision; raindrops splattering on the glass as they descended from the dark night sky. The wet noises emanating from Gavin and Nines were audible over the quietly resonant sounds of the rain, driving the human’s thoughts to further heights of lewdness. This was beyond unimaginably pleasurable. He couldn’t take it.

The pensive android offered up one more of his trademark smirks and then proceeded to firmly push his finger completely into the slickened heat of his lover’s body. Gavin arched, pushing against Nines’ hand, wordlessly pleading for more. As such, Nines was more than happy to give it to him, sliding his finger slowly in and out of Gavin’s tight hole. He soon added a second, twisting and scissoring his fingers, gently stretching the tight entrance. Amping up the pleasure, he turned Gavin around so he was lying down on his stomach, ass right in the air shamelessly just as Nines preferred him to be. When Gavin wasn’t slick enough, Nines lapped at the entrance and quivering crevice a few times. Gentle as he was in the beginning, Nines unfortunately slipped and lost control halfway, gripping and spreading Gavin’s cheeks apart rougher than he’d intended to.

His earlier climax had relaxed Gavin’s body enough that he felt no discomfort from the two fingers and occasional tongue working within his sensitive opening. All he felt was the sweet pleasure generated by the friction of the fingers against the extremely sensitive skin of his anus. He’d had no idea that he was so sensitive back there, but the pleasure kept building, bringing him higher and higher, and all he could do was writhe against the hard body holding him so closely, pushing forward against the heat of Nines’ cock, then thrusting back onto the fingers and tongue impaling him. Suddenly, Nines pushed in further than he had before, and Gavin keened loudly as the fingers rubbed against his prostate, his entire body arching as the exquisite sensations coursed along every nerve ending.

Nines removed his fingers from within Gavin, guiding him onto his back once more. Positioning himself between Gavin’s widespread legs, he carefully inserted three fingers into the man’s body, aiming directly for that hard, little bundle of nerves. He found it immediately, and Gavin writhed in reaction, pumping wantonly against the fingers impaling him. Nines shuddered, his weeping cock rubbing against the bed sheets, demanding to be embedded in the heat that was presently clutching at his fingers. He had dreamed of this moment so many times even after rounds of sex; of having Gavin in his bed all day, every day, any day, anywhere…but he had never imagined the passionate enthusiasm which the shorter man was displaying. It was driving him wild with need, a need that he would not be able to resist for much longer.

He finally removed his fingers, wiped his hand on the sheet, and moved up to claim Gavin’s mouth once more, trying desperately to regain some control over himself.

Gavin, for his part, whimpered at the emptiness he felt when the fingers withdrew, but was consoled as the larger man moved up to cover him. He wrapped his arms around his lover’s neck and gratefully received the plundering tongue into his mouth, reveling in the imitation of actions in which other body parts would soon be engaged.

Growling possessively, Nines broke the kiss and gazed intently into the passion-glazed blue eyes below himself. Flushed cheeks and kiss-swollen lips completed the thoroughly debauched look of his co-worker and former nemesis. Every nerve in his body was screaming at him to take what was laid out so appealingly before him, but he needed to give the detective one last look to consume him whole before they embarked on the final act.

It took Gavin several moments to realize why Nines had halted, and it took much effort on his part to keep his eyes from tearing up at this ultimate consideration. Under no circumstances did Nines want Gavin to think that he had any doubts about what they were doing together.

He gently laid one hand along Gavin’s cheek, his thumb reaching to softly caress the slightly reddened lips. “Gavin,” he desperately rasped like a choking man, “I love you so much,” he quietly coaxed, “I’ve waited-no…we’ve both waited too long for this. I want this…I want you, more than I can say.”

When Gavin made to speak, Nines hissed, “No, don’t say ‘no’ to me; not at this late hour.” He focused on putting every ounce of his love and admiration into his eyes, and, knowing that a skilled, seasoned detective would put more trust in what was unspoken, he lowered his mental shields and projected his feelings directly at his lover.

Gavin’s eyes widened slightly at the trust and love that flooded into him from his most cherished partner, and he smiled down at him, not just with his lips, but from the depths of his soul. It warmed his eyes and took Nines’ worries away. The android turned his head, pressing a soft kiss into Gavin’s palm, then reached down to hook his lover’s legs over his arms, spreading the man wide and lifting his lower torso up, ready to be plundered.

Carefully, he maneuvered the weeping head of his painfully hard cock to press against Gavin’s loosened entrance, and slowly pushed inside. It took every bit of strength he possessed to stop himself from plunging further into the tight heat that surrounded the head of his cock.

Gavin couldn’t stop the pained whimper that escaped him, his body frozen in shock. Nines had prepared him well, and he had been thoroughly enjoying the fingering and licking he had received, but the cock was so much larger than the fingers had been, as always. Nines leaned down and claimed Gavin’s lips once more, tasting and teasing, distracting the other man from the burning pain, slowly coaxing a response from him.

As soon as Gavin started to relax, Nines rested himself on the body below himself to immobilize it, and then slowly, slowly pushed forward into Gavin’s tight heat deeper. Gasping, Gavin could do no more than toss his head from side to side as the enormous cock filled him. On and on it went, until Nines’ heavy balls were resting against the cheeks of Gavin’s ass. Nines was whispering heavily in his ear, shaking with the effort to remain still, but allowing Gavin the time he needed to adjust to the sensation of being entered a bit too deeply at once. He felt incredibly full, split in half by the weapon that impaled him. He had no control over his body as it bucked beneath Nines’ weight in its unfamiliarity with this invasion, his passage clenching around the steely intruder.

Nines could not remain still for very long, the exquisite heat surrounding his cock was testing his control to the utmost. He soon withdrew until only the head remained lodged within Gavin’s tightness, then plunged forward, aiming for Gavin’s sweet spot. His aim was true, and the sensitive male cried out in pained pleasure. Nines repeated the movement, over and over again, until he was pounding mindlessly into the body beneath himself.

The pain Gavin had been feeling was swiftly eclipsed by the pleasure forced into him by the constant battering of his prostate. His cock soon hardened in response, and he writhed against his lover, trying to get some desperately needed friction. Nines knew just what Gavin was trying to accomplish, so he released one of Gavin’s legs and reached between them to wrap his hand around the weeping cock. Delightfully, Gavin moaned in gratitude and was soon thrusting enthusiastically-forward into the tight grip surrounding his cock, and then backwards onto the hard shaft impaling him.

The room was filled with the sounds of their passion; the moans and cries of both men as they worked feverishly towards completion, the smack of flesh against flesh, the bed squeaking occasionally from the force of their enthusiasm.

Gavin was the first to find his release and screamed out Nines’ name as he arched beneath his lover, his cock pulsing as he spilled between their bodies. The fierce clenching of his passage took Nines over the edge, his body shuddering as he filled Gavin with the proof of his passion. He released Gavin’s other leg and collapsed onto his weak lover, his body twitching occasionally as the last bursts of pleasure swept along his nerve endings. Gavin wrapped himself around Nines, thoroughly enjoying his lover’s passion-induced weakness while he came down from his own high.

Several long moments later, when Nines could finally think again, he placed a tender kiss against Gavin’s throat, then carefully withdrew his softened cock from his lover’s passage. Naturally, Gavin whimpered in reaction, so Nines placed a finger against Gavin’s red and abused nether hole, and gently rubbed him there, as if somehow trying to make amends and apologize, oddly. A second later, voices and noises came from above, on the other side of the ceiling. Wondering if they’d disturbed their neighbors. This time, Nines was quicker to cleanse himself and Gavin, and the two men were freed from the evidence of their exertions. Nines moved himself off of Gavin and laid next to him, gathering him close.

Gavin tiredly settled himself against Nines, wrapping one arm and leg over the older body, resting his head on the smooth chest, where he could hear the strong, steady thrumming of the thirium pump telling him that he was safe and loved. Nines silently summoned the covers from where they had been discarded earlier, carefully tucking them around his exhausted treasure.

When everything was peaceful and gentle in the air, Nines sighed. “Gavin?” he asked softly, placing a gentle kiss on the head tucked under his chin.

“Hmm?” was the sleepy reply.

“Just in case I wasn’t clear enough, that was a resounding ‘yes’.” He felt the cheek resting against his chest move into a smile as the warm, pliant body snuggled closer, but there was no other answer as the two drifted into sleep. None was needed.

Gavin knew exactly what he’d been referring to, and Nines was pleased that he’d finally answered the question before dawn arrived.


	79. Jealousy in Honour

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Links to the outfit Nines is wearing here.  
https://www.punkshop.eu/p/107498-men-s-pants-men-punk-rave-nazgul-wk-319/  
https://www.thedarkstore.com/en/males-waistcoats/1025-8620-black-nomeon-gothic-waistcoat.html  
https://www.fantasmagoria.eu/faunus-jacket-wy-1019bk-punk-rave

The rest of the trip to Elijah’s home was made in the morning. After breakfast and showering, Nines and Gavin dressed as formally as they could, at least putting in some effort in making a good first impression.

Nines wore a black Faunus jacket. The Victorian Gothic style men’s black high standing collar frock coat was decorated with satin ribbon ornamental embroidery and had embossed silver buttons at the front and cuffs. It all had been put together with a back-belt strap for a perfect fit. Beneath it, Nines had donned a Nomeon waistcoat. His Nazgul men’s trousers were more of a Gothic black slim fit trouser with irregular grey rubber paint, distressed mesh details and belts straps. The front was decorated with irregular white-gray prints and distressed mesh details, while the right thigh and front pocket were decorated with woven straps with buckles, D-rings and skull-stud. Strangely, large eyelets also sat on the right thigh.

Gavin opted to wear something simpler; a black and white t-shirt, striped much like the skin of a zebra beneath his black sweater and black jeans. Together, they were back on the road, then, and estimated that they would soon reach ‘Kamski Manor’ within half an hour at the latest.

As such, they hadn’t been wrong.

When they reached the abode, the sun was beaming and shining at its peak. The effulgent rays were practically blinding, so Gavin looked away from them as his eyes opened up to the wondrous, glorious sight of Elijah’s possessions and territory. It was a home and an estate unto itself, practically, far out of reach from anyone and everyone else in the world.

Elijah Kamski’s car was perched right beneath a dome of sorts, and as they stepped out of their car parked as soon as the private gates opened for their entry after a quick scan, Nines smiled. The fixture was a rather retro-looking as it stood there, dignified even in dinginess. Stairs swept ostentatiously toward the front entrance. Huge, black doors embedded with glass lay in wait of visitors. The windows were obscured by old-fashioned velvet curtains. There was a quietly illuminated circular fountain with a statue of a nude, wistful-looking woman gazing heavenward at its center, possibly a homage to the work of some famous sculptor.

Several cameras stood on guard, lined up in an orderly fashion above on every column on both sides of the grand stairs, the security far too excessive for a ‘welcoming meeting’ of sorts.

Nines quickly pointed out, “It certainly seems fitting to call this a damn palace, doesn’t it?”

Gavin only nodded in agreement as they passed by the fountain and climbed up the stairs leading right to the entrance. Both men paused, and as soon as Nines raised a hand to try and knock or ring the doorbell, something let out a dull, low ‘buzzing’ sound. Like a charm flying about the place, the large silver and black doors didn’t even utter a creak as they moved. A surreal vista unfolded beyond those doors as they swung solemnly open.

A great hall with a high, vaulted ceiling and an overflowing sense of wide-open space great their eyes as they stood back, unsure of whether to proceed forth or not. Peeking in as much as they were able to, they found that the floor and stairs were made of a rare black and gold patterned marble. Close to the entrance was a small-scale fountain, from which echoed the sound of cool running water overflowing magnificently. The interior was far more overblown and luxurious than it had appeared from the outside; an enormous chandelier hung overhead, emitting dazzling light beaming and reaching every last corner in the grand hall. The thick, long walls were freshly painted with pastel red and silver shades, giving the optical illusion of growing smaller and larger at once.

Even the most cliché items, like sword-bearing suits of medieval armor and daggers held and presented in heavy glass display cases were set here and there about the front hall. The nefastous statues of young children-male and female-littering the place caught Nines’ eye, as they were particularly frequent the further he crept inside. It could’ve served for a collection, indeed, but the RK900 observed that not a single one of the statues had their eyes uncovered. Draped over the foreheads and eyes of each and every single one of them was a black sash of sorts, ensuring that their eyes were concealed.

Gavin, who appeared to be experiencing sensory overload, kept gaping up at the second floor of the manor.

“Tacky décor,” Nines hissed, though Gavin didn’t seem to really be listening to him. 

At once, two beautiful, voluptuous female androids crept forth at them from the darkness cast behind a few medieval knights. Gavin nearly leapt up in fright, but Nines scowled. The androids appeared to be of the exact same replica and model. They were both RT600s, and they resembled the original RT600 model, Chloe.

Nines snarled at them silently, and as the two female androids dressed in nothing but short, silky nightgown that barely reached the top portions of their creamy white thighs scanned him, they both turned to each other and smiled knowing smiles.

Clearly annoyed with their behavior already, Gavin announced as he pointed at himself, “I’m Gavin Reed, and this is my partner, Nines. We were expected, here, and we’re Elijah’s guests.”

After hearing that confirmation, the female RT600s nodded very slowly in an eerie fashion. The one of the left giggled, and the one on the right suddenly began humming off-tune some random song no one could place. After a moment, they both set off down the corridor that led to the back of the main hall past the spiral staircase. 

Left wondering what to make of the odd behavior, Gavin and Nines stared blankly at the emptiness surrounding them.

It was Gavin who first whispered, “I suppose that means we have to follow them?”

“Indeed,” came Nines’ deep rumble of a response.

Shaking his head in mild disbelief, Gavin suggested, “You go first.”

Not really needing much encouragement, Nines led the way.

It was a dreary path to take. Every once in a while, when the pair had gotten somewhat ‘lost’ in their journey, the RT600 androids would somehow be able to sense it, and they would appear out of thin air. Giggling and humming like mysterious sirens of the sea, their lovely, effeminate faces would appear from behind boulders and other strange decorations to try and redirect Gavin and Nines on the right path. One of the androids frightened Gavin out of his wits when he accidentally lost track of Nines. He’d caught sight of a magnificent cage that was nearly the size of the kitchen in his old apartment. Thinking at first that a wild, exotic pet would be found inside the cage, Gavin gaped and studied the holding, and was absolutely shocked when he discovered that a tiny lizard was sleeping away in the far right-hand corner on a small perch. It was after a moment or two of further gaping and astonishment rendering him frozen stiff, when one of the female androids appeared at his side, singing and cooing at him as she pointed in the opposite direction.

Screaming at her to get away from him, Gavin was dragged off by Nines.

Together, they kept their heads down, ignoring the bizarre paintings and nude engravings carved into the wooden pillars and columns standing about. Every nude form they marched past seemed to be of the same female android, Chloe. The scantily clad android smiled down at them every step of the way, and Nines truly had to wonder just why and how Chloe herself could be so comfortable with her lover displaying her nude body so openly and callously before the eyes of all who wandered down these halls.

As if somehow possessing the ability to read his troubled thoughts clear as day, Gavin snuck a hand in Nines’, and he latched onto his lover’s limb warmly. They walked on this way with the two blue LED lights of the RT600 models sweeping and floating about, right up until they reached the end of the longest corridor they’d been travelling along for what seemed like an age.

Finally, a pair of black double doors stood at the end of the long hallway, with chains wrapped over two to three layers deep around their handles. It was quite a sight to behold, and Gavin and Nines both truly didn’t know what to make of it.

While they stood before the chain, not even bothering to reach out and touch it, the two female androids brought them to the next closest room away from the door that was clearly bolted and hidden away.

Nines supplied quickly, “I guess that wasn’t meant for our eyes.”

The androids led them into a brightly lit room that looked more like a normal office than anything else they’d seen so far in Kamski manor. From what Nines could see beyond the door, it was perhaps an office and a waiting room. A table and two sofas located right in the middle stood elegantly. A small fireplace that was currently off leaned against a wall. The carpet was red and violet, and the room wasn’t entirely spacious, surprisingly.

The female androids suddenly approached Gavin and Nines, and each of them withdrew from behind their backs small, black flowery crowns. Reluctantly, the two men bowed their heads, eager to play along with whatever this scheme was just to get it all over with. Not wanting a fuss, Gavin and Nines helped the female androids attire their heads with the crowns, and then they backed out of the waiting room. The door shut after their exit, and following a momentary silence, the sound of approaching footsteps echoed off the marble floor.

“I hope we get to finally see the damn Devil at last.”

Together with Nines’ mocking whisper, a man appeared from a door mostly hidden and secretively concealed from the other side of a thick, heavy curtain. It was strewn darkly over half the doorframe, and it was an easy mark to miss, if one wasn’t looking out for it. 

Basically floating over towards them as if it were the most natural thing in the world for a human being, Elijah Kamski had appeared. Donning a white t-shirt that held more buttons than any clothing Nines owned, black shorts with silver patterns outlining the pockets, and black loafers fitting snugly on his feet, not much had really changed in terms of Elijah Kamski’s appearance. He still had a goatee on his face, black hair, and it was still tied back in its usual bun. It looked a bit longer, however, and so did the sides of his head he’d often shaved down pretty closely.

Pointing a finger at Nines, suddenly, Elijah exclaimed, “Hey, what do you know? We’ve thought of the same hairstyle, so it seems.”

Frowning, Nines didn’t even bother pointing out the fact that there was quite an obvious difference between a mohawk and a man-bun. All he wanted to do was bury his fist directly and deeply into his creator’s face, no matter how inappropriate it would be. He held far too much in the way of anger and malice for this monster.

Looking away from Nines, then, Elijah finally cast his eyes on Gavin’s form. As unmoving as his statues, Elijah remained frozen, but then an odd smile overcame him. “Gavin Reed,” he announced, “I’m shocked that I wasn’t able to see your whites on the screen when we video chatted earlier…” Head tilted in a way that seemed to portray he was the bigger, better man in the room, Elijah jabbed verbally, “You look a lot older than I thought you would.”

Glaring up slowly, a cantankerous Gavin growled dangerously, “So do you.”

The tension and animosity came in the form of a promise it seemed. Even though Nines wanted to congratulate Gavin on being as abrasive as ever, he held his tongue and merely continued sneering away at his creator instead.

Behind them, the doors opened slowly with a tiny ‘creak’, but instead of the two RT600 models, the very original prototype, Chloe entered the room. She was dressed quite lavishly, which sadly couldn’t have been said for her clones. On her curvy, hourglass figure sat a bright red dress that came up to the middle of her thighs. Black high heeled shoes clicked softly, and above her A-Line Round neck, she had a pearl necklace that made light bounce off it pleasantly.

Standing next to her ireful partner, she looked like a billion dollars. Her lovely blonde hair flowed down to her shoulders where it hung in curvy waves. Her makeup was dainty and sparkly, much like her LED light and eyes.

Beaming at Nines and Gavin in a welcoming manner, she cooed, “Hello!! I don’t think I’ve seen you two before!” Hand stretched out, then, she chuckled, “Pleased to meet you bo—”

Rudely shoving her hand down, Elijah waved around the office. “Let’s not stay here all day long,” he snapped moodily, motioning at the door. “I would like to give my older brother here a little tour of sorts, Chloe…”

She didn’t appear to mind, and she only bowed her head, looped her arm around Elijah’s, and then cheerfully rang out, “Let’s go!!”

Exchanging fleeting looks of concern and confusion, Nines and Gavin almost didn’t know what to do…almost. Eventually, Nines was the savior yet again, and he held out his hand for Gavin to take.

The detective seemed far too eager to do so.

*x*x*x*x*x*

They went through the gym, first, which was built into the second half of the super large basement of Kamski manor. Elijah was nothing short of an impious, spoiled brat, Nines found. Not only did he own his personal boxing ring, but he also had a sauna, an indoor swimming pool, plenty of treadmills, stationary bikes, an array of weight sets, bench presses, jump ropes, as well as a basketball court off to the side.

It was sheer insanity and ridiculousness all in one strange combination, and it never seemed to end…neither did Elijah’s boasting, so it appeared. The entire time as they walked about, the man bragged on and on about his accomplishments. One by one, he pointed out all his plentiful treasures, eventually stopping as he reached a shelf holding at least twenty trophies. The golden and silver awards and medals hung about, and Elijah held his head high, puffed out his chest, and tapped a few of them as he spoke on.

“I’ve been boxing for years,” he stated as he advanced the levels of his bragging, “I’m almost as efficient in martial arts as I am in Krav Maga. I won at least three swimming competitions, as well as came in second for a marathon I ran last year…”

For majority of the time spent wandering about the gymnasium, Nines and Gavin drowned out the over-bloated bragging. It was difficult however when Elijah punched and kicked harshly at one of his punching bags and dummies in the center of his boxing ring. Flexing his muscles so much that it made the other two men feel quite nervous and uncomfortable, he chuckled profoundly, “Don’t look so surprised! I love working out, and I’m surprisingly fit for my age!!”

Chances were that this was nothing but jactancy and showing off, but Nines decided to seal his mouth shut lest thing go unwell for Gavin. All he could do was nod at his ‘false god’ and offer random words of praise here and there if it felt appropriate.

When they left the gigantic gym and flocked throughout the rest of Kamski manor, Nines could tell for certain that Gavin was getting rather fed-up. He consistently grew redder and redder in the face, his breaths came out in short gusts and pants, and he sneered at the walls, ceiling, and floor in an effort to keep his eyes off Elijah’s perfect assets. The other man was far too unbearable and superfluous as he showed off other things he knew Gavin didn’t have.

The lout.

Eventually, when they wandered over to one of Elijah’s pool tables carved and designed from rare marble, Gavin seemed to be at his limit.

Throwing his hands up in the air in defeat, he exclaimed on the last edge of his sanity, “Elijah, we get it; _you’re _rich, _you’re _better, _you’re_ far more perfect.” An apologetic look formed it way onto his face when Chloe seemed hurt, and he added, “I mean no disrespect here, but you maybe haven’t heard that my mom, Carrie Moser passed away not too long ago.”

At once, Chloe’s LED light changed to yellow, and she held up a hand against Elijah’s chest as if she were trying to steady herself before fainting. Her partner at her side wasn’t phased or troubled in the least bit. Elijah stared on blankly and coldly, uncaring as though Gavin had pointed out something about the weather or news.

Finally, his lips twitched, and he grumbled out almost as if he was being forced to speak. “Your mother…passed away?” It didn’t even present itself like a question; it was an emotionless declarative statement, at best.

Chloe was far more empathetic. Her eyes welled up with concern, sadness, and she timorously pushed out, “I’m s-so sorry for your loss, Gavin. I can’t even begin to imagine what it would be like to lose a mother. Please accept my deepest and most sincere condolences!” Hanging her head down in utter desolation and hopelessness, her LED light remained on yellow. Meanwhile, Elijah truly looked as though he preferred being anywhere else in the world, and it seemed like the current situation was more of a hindrance and burden on his agenda to show off…

Equally as sad as the RT600, Gavin whispered, “Yes, thank you. She raised me herself, and she was all I had, and I was all she had. I miss her so, so much.”

Nines nuzzled Gavin, wrapping an arm around his shoulder and holding him closely. They all shared a long moment of silence, hardly a sound permeating in the room.

Suddenly, Elijah cleared his throat as he murmured incoherently, “A loss is a loss. Grow up.”

Nines’ head snapped up, and his eyes grew dark with hatred. “Excuse me?!”

Wiping his eyes, Gavin hissed, “It’s okay, Nines.”

Chloe gaped at her lover, absolute horror and pain reflecting in her beautiful face. “Elijah!!” she squeaked as she pushed him back a little, “how can you be so callous?!”

Rolling his eyes up towards the ceiling, Elijah icily replied, “Oh come on, Chloe!” When his voice rose and boomed across the room, everyone grew silent, and Gavin hardly breathed.

Continuing, a carnaptious Elijah harshly spat out, “It’s not like I’m a stranger to loss!! I lost my mother, too! Holy shit!!” Eyes bugging out slightly pink and sensitive, now, he roared mightily, “But do you see _me_ sitting here and moping about?! Nope!! I grew stronger, and I did something productive in my mother’s name!! That’s how CyberLife came to be, so don’t you _dare_ try to minimize my suffering!!”

When he through with his tirade, Nines threw back at him while sneering acidly, “Just because you were able to react to loss a certain way, doesn’t make you any better than another person.”

“I _never_ claimed that crap,” Elijah argued strongly, like a brat trying to win and firmly state his point in spite of not having one to begin with. “I’m just suggesting that Gavin needs to try and do that and be stronger; not weaken down while people patronize him. Life goes on whether we like it or not, guys,” he intoned rather dully, moving away from them as he led them out the current room without another glance back at them.

Lingering behind for a moment, Chloe soothingly whispered to Gavin, “I apologize on his behalf. He’s just—”

“Chloe!!” Elijah barked out her name like a demand. “Come on!! We’ve got things to do!!”

As she hurried over towards her lover, Nines took advantage of the moment he was left alone with Gavin. Bestowing a soft, chaste kiss on his temple, the gothic android purred out to his lover, “A word of caution in your ear…”

Once Gavin was listening, Nines continued, his eyes on the doorway the entire time.

“He’ll do whatever he can to put himself in a higher place than you. It’s a political, psychological game, and I don’t want you playing into his hand. Do you hear me, love?”

Gavin nodded, eyes down to the floor warily as he promised, “Don’t worry, babe. I know what he’s doing, and I’m _not_ gonna fall for it.”

“_Please_,” Nines begged, no longer caring that he was on the verge of sounding desperate, “I urge you-for your own sanity, Gavin, do not give Elijah Kamski what he wants!”

Gavin’s hands cupped his cheeks, and Nines gazed pleadingly into his lover’s eyes. There were so many things he wanted to shout and cry out at Gavin, but the moment their eyes met and searched each other, the RK900 was lost; his mind had gone blank and was erased like a blackboard.

Gifting him with a pleasant smile, Gavin hurriedly said, “Don’t worry, babe. Everything’s gonna be alright!!” Though his hands shook a little, he firmly concluded, “I’m gonna do whatever I can to stay on this asshole’s good side. He’ll come around, and we’ll be outta here before—”

“Don’t you guys want any food or drinks?” Elijah called back, far beyond the room, though his voice carried through well enough.

Frowning, Gavin sighed out weakly, “…Before dinner, yeah.”

Nines only groaned as he pouted and added, “Great. Let’s go see what this weirdo has cooked up for us, then.”

*x*x*x*x*x*

Carefully mixing in the alcohol with ice and a blend of fruits, Elijah turned on the fancy mixer. Chloe watched him, and a few times, she reached forward with her small, dainty pink-fingernail polished fingers to help him.

Huffing, Elijah finally griped with gasconism, “I think I’m old enough to use a blender, Chloe!”

Chewing on her lower lip as she swished her hips, the female android sighed, “Are you sure you don’t want my help, darling?”

There came a grandiloquent eye roll as Elijah slowly began turning down the intensity of the mixer. “Please, Chloe,” he muttered impatiently, eyes peering down at his task the entire time, “I don’t think I need your assistance with performing basic hosting functions!”

Knowing her lover was dishing out a lot of unnecessary attitude while snapping away at her, Chloe only sought out to obey and please Elijah. Flying out of the kitchen, she tried entertaining Nines, instead. The two androids interfaced, pressing their hands against each other, the human layer of skin deactivating as they went through the motions.

All Gavin and Elijah could do for a while was simply watch the androids. Though Chloe’s LED light spun and flashed many brilliant colors, Nines’ lack of one was evident and quite clear. Its absence seemed to have an odd effect on the one who’d given him life.

Shaking his head wistfully, Elijah mumbled, “No LED light, huh?” Gesturing with his thumb over at Nines, he asked, “Was that your influence?”

Frowning while he observed Elijah mixing the alcoholic blend before adding in more ice for the finishing touches, Gavin answered curtly, “Nines does whatever he wants, whenever he wants. I’m not about forceful relationships or controlling ones.” 

“Sure.” Elijah seemed all too eager not to be having this conversation. He packed the blender, the ice cubes, and put everything else away in an orderly fashion. Licking the alcohol that stuck to his fingers quite obscenely and loudly, he smacked his lips together, sampling it like a stray dog than a person with proper manners.

Turning away from the horrific sight before his stomach turned more upset and queasier than it already felt, Gavin muttered shortly, “Save some for the rest of us.”

Cachinnating as he rolled his eyes and shook his head, Elijah replied, “Aren’t you a trip, Gavin…” Moving about the kitchen, he began stacking dishes and utensils for four people, even though he knew very well that Chloe and Nines couldn’t consume human food.

Offended by this notion more than he knew he should’ve been, especially considering how he was set on marrying and starting a new life with an android, Gavin tossed a rather annoyed and heated glare at the copious amounts of extravagant food. It was all going to be wasted…

Catching on to his baneful stares, Elijah snapped, “Something on your mind?” His sentence-specifically the way he’d spoken it out-seemed to be more so asking: ‘what else do you want?’

Gavin mumbled, “Why go through the trouble of getting and making all this food if you know there’s only going to be two people eating it? I don’t get it, man.”

Smirking triumphantly, the man with the ice-cold blue eyes retorted testily, “Who said you had to eat food in order to enjoy it?”

Hating how saucy Elijah was being simply because he could, Gavin shook his head in his clear disapproval. “I don’t know, man,” he snorted, in spite of it all not being even the least bit amusing, “if it were me, and if I cared about someone enough, I wouldn’t purposefully go ahead and do shit that could offend them.” Twisting his face into a sarcastic sneer, Gavin tilted his head as he whispered quickly, “You may want to try that shit some time, just sayin’.”

Checking to see what Chloe and Nines were up to, then, Elijah took his time before leaning back against Gavin and whispering just as sarcastically while his face contorted to mimic Gavin’s previous facial expression. “And if it were _me_,” he began in an officious, cold manner, “I’d make it a habit to try and mind my own damn business…you may want to try that shit some time…just sayin’.”

Not wanting to argue with an idiot, Gavin made brief eye contact with Elijah. When he saw nothing but contempt, indignity, and malice shining back at him, he held up a hand and muttered, “Are you happy? You won an argument today, Elijah!!” Flashing the man a thumbs-up, he concluded, “You’re the bigger man, here…now, can we please hurry up in here?” Gesturing at the plates and food, he snapped, “I’m hungry, tired, and I’m sure you are, too.”

Cobalt blue eyes glared into his own, and Elijah turned around to an enormous closet built into the side of his kitchen. Opening its heavy door, he murmured something about salad dressing. As soon as the closet door had squeaked open, Elijah gave long pause. Though his back was facing Gavin, the detective knew something had alarmed Elijah. The man’s oragious eyes were darting from side to side, assessing in sheer silence. After a few moments, he let out a disappointed growl.

His right hand shot out aggressively, and he half-dove inside the dark closet. “Out, _now_.”

Raising an eyebrow, from his vantage point, Gavin couldn’t see a damn thing. At first thinking Elijah had gone insane and was seeing things that weren’t there, he’d wanted to encourage the younger man to knock it off, when he heard rustling.

Impatiently, Elijah waved whatever was standing there before himself forward. “Come on!” he barked viciously, losing his nerve by the minute, “get out of there, right this instant!!”

Suddenly, to Gavin’s sheer horror and shock, one of the ‘Chloe’ clones stepped right out of the closet and swept past Elijah. That was unfortunately half the part that scared Gavin. To his terror, he discovered that she was absolutely nude.

Gripping her by her slender arm, Elijah yanked her out of the kitchen, swearing at her the entire time. The completely nude android giggled and sang to herself, and Gavin struggled to keep his eyes off her body, especially when she’d insisted on dancing and weaving her way around the kitchen. She was taunting Elijah more, giving him the perfect view of the swell of her behind while running away.

“DON’T YOU COME DOWN HERE AGAIN UNTIL WE’RE DONE!” Elijah roared from the top of his lungs, “I TOLD YOU THAT I CAN’T PLAY RIGHT NOW!!! YOU HAVE TO LISTEN TO ME!!”

The other end of the gigantic house remained deathly silent, and Gavin felt even more horrified by the knowledge that Nines and Chloe had obviously been made aware of what was going on. How was he to face any of them?! Didn’t Elijah himself have any damn shame?! Why was he so fucking weird?!

Calling out to him, Gavin cleared his throat, not exactly making eye contact when the other male walked back into the kitchen.

_He’s deeply disturbed,_ Gavin surmised, but out loud, he orated, “Did you n-need help with anything else? Or can I set the table?”

Waving him off as though this were nothing, Elijah laughed as he said, “All you had to do was ask, Gavin; this home is your home, too, and I told you that you should make yourself comfortable, did I not?”

“Yeah, you did,” Gavin sighed, grabbing and stacking the dishes on top of each other as he began heading towards the dining room. He was more than a little sidetracked, nettlesome, and confused by whatever it was that Elijah wanted him to do, but he supposed that the younger man was perhaps changing his plans just to confuse him on purpose…yes, that wouldn’t be too far of a stretch or an exaggeration.

Whipping around in the direction Elijah was standing in, Gavin snapped, “Where’re we goin’, anyway?”

Head jerking towards the backyard, Elijah answered snootily, “Outside to eat, where else?”

Gazing out, Gavin noticed that quite an extravagant swing set, barbeque grill, greenhouse, as well as a Mykonos Aluminum Patio Gazebo sat waiting. The greenhouse was located to the far-right beyond the gazebo, and the porch housed the swing sets. Before that happened to be a large jacuzzi built into the floor of the porch, the water churning and bubbling with the steam rising up. A grandiose outdoor pool had been built across from the greenhouse, with plenty of fruitful trees surrounding the perimeter of the pool. Statues of children sprang up from the center of the pool, in quite the disturbing fashion. Large wooden bridges and walkways stretched on between the garden, the toolshed, as well as a few random birdhouses. Hanging on the pillars of the columns happened to be torches, brightly lit with the fires dancing seductively. Firepits burned beautifully every ten or so feet around the backyard, and even though it was growing darker, the place was rather bright.

Inside the gazebo were four chairs all seated around the large, round glass table. The placemats sat waiting for the plates, and Gavin knew then that it was going to be an impossible feat to try and change Elijah’s mind.

At least the view was decent enough, and as they all made their way outside to begin dining, Gavin found that Elijah was set on serving the roasted duck and barbequed lamb chops all by himself. Was he really going to eat all that meat? Gavin supposed not, but he still found it quite amusing how Elijah cooked the meals, and set them out even for Chloe and Nines. The androids had no idea what to do with their portions, so they oddly just stared at their meals and then pushed them around with their utensils.

While Gavin tried to degust his food, Elijah started rambling on and on, even though no one likely wanted to hear what he had to say right now.

There was hardly any deglutition as Elijah prattled on and on about his motorbike collection, his vast collection of swords, daggers, and treasures found from when he’d traveled to different countries around the globe with Chloe. Apparently, he’d been to Egypt, to Siberia, to Asia, to Scotland, and to Madagascar, all within two years at the most. Gavin felt slightly envious, and as the covetous feelings tickled and singed deeply in his heart while he attempted to drown out his stepbrother’s stupid words, he felt Nines gently rubbing his leg against his own.

Glancing up at his partner, Gavin nervously met Nines’ eyes, when Elijah chortled out, “Speaking of really funny things, since I don’t want to bore everyone else with details about myself all day here, why don’t we all hear something really, _really_ funny?!”

Chloe chuckled, though it was slightly on the side of ‘uncomfortable’. Fighting to press a hand down on the back of Elijah’s in an effort to deter him, she gushed, “Darling, there’s no need for that! Maybe Gavin and Nines want to tell their own experiences and share something with us?”

“Nonsense!” he pushed her idea out of the way churlishly, snorting as he tapped an index finger repetitively on his chin. Eyes roaming the sky, he finally snapped his fingers as he cried potently, “Aha!! I’ve got a pretty good one, hang on.”

While he shifted back, dabbing his napkin over his lips, Chloe gently tugged on his clothes in a light warning.

“Darling, we—”

“You’ll probably remember this one, Gavin,” he continued on brazenly, not even bothering to acknowledge the fact that Chloe was feeling quite anxious and uncomfortable.

Crossing a leg over the opposite kneecap, Elijah folded his pale hands in his lap and sighed to himself. Rubbing his cheeks, he explained, “We were both pretty young. It was one of the times you came over to help me with homework because I was kinda slow back in the day, and I looked up to you a _lot_…”

Nines and Gavin both sensed this was going to turn sour, and they hung their heads down and stared at their plates. Shadows of tree leaves and branches swung and swayed about above, and Chloe’s LED light blared red and yellow numerous times as she chewed one of her perfectly painted nails.

Holding up his hands, Elijah ranted softly, “I mean, half of it was because of my mom…she always told me: ‘Gavin’s a smart boy, so you should try to hang around him, learn a thing or two from him’.” Eyes still fixated somewhere above, he pressed on, though his voice started growing deeper.

“I tried doing that, but it seemed like you really didn’t want me around you, Gavin. Ah, well,” rubbing his nose, he blinked, and then spat, “you know how kids are, right? They can’t take hints as well as adults can, so I started hanging around you a lot. Nothing much stuck out to me, except for one day when you and I went to a park after school.”

Unable to exactly recall it, Gavin whispered, “I don’t remember that.”

“I do.” Elijah was dead set on it, and he met Gavin’s eyes before he continued in a husky tone of voice. “I remember it so much that this incident sometimes appears to me even in my dreams to this very day.”

A malicious look was instantly upon Gavin’s face, but for the sake of keeping this as civilized as possible, he kept his mouth shut. The unconsentaneous half-siblings had reached their own stalemate, but Elijah importunately pushed his own narrative.

A finger stretched out, and Elijah breathed coldly, “We went to the park to play baseball, once. Naturally, I tried being as fast and strong as you, Gavin; I _always _wanted to be like my ‘big brother’. But you ran past me after I tried swinging at the ball, and when I missed for the second time, you ran and deliberately threw me into the dirt. Do you remember that?”

Stuttering, Gavin coughed weakly, “I…I was just a kid, Elijah!!”

Nodding, Chloe added, “He’s right, sweetie!! Kids will be kids, you know?!”

Shaking his head, Elijah hissed with high amounts of venom, “That isn’t what made me laugh back then, and it still makes me laugh now when I think about it.” Sitting back and folding his arms across his chest, he held his chin up high in a way that encouraged his over-inflated sense of self-superiority.

Nines wanted nothing more than to bash his creator over the head with a brick in the hopes of perhaps knocking some sense and reality into the man’s thick skull, but he restrained himself as he bubbled inside with irritation and hatred.

“Hmm,” Elijah rasped, “not a single guess, then?”

Throwing his hands in the air wearily, Gavin exclaimed, “Just tell us.”

A glint suddenly appeared in Elijah’s eyes. It closely resembled the look of a predator stalking its prey before it unleashed a death blow and buried its razor-sharp fangs into the poor creature’s throat. The fires of hatred, envy, and contempt stirred and burned within Elijah, and they practically swarmed over his guests as he continuously reserved his most powerful, malefic glares only for Gavin Reed.

Tucking himself back into his chair, he finally noted, “It wasn’t the fact that I busted my forehead open, had to get ten stitches, and it wasn’t even the fact that I cried harder that day than I ever had since I was a toddler.” Shaking his head, he stated, “What truly made me laugh was the fact that my own _mother_-the woman who gave birth to me and raised me-didn’t even come rushing to my aid, and do you know why?”

Gavin didn’t even blink or move a muscle.

Sneering like a vampire, Elijah answered himself. “She didn’t care, and it was because she was already too busy trying to please your _father_, and her boyfriend’s son…”

Swallowing nervously, Gavin felt his eyes burning. He hadn’t even blinked in a minute…

“_You_,” Elijah hissed at him as though addressing a seriously deadly enemy. “She wanted to please _you_ more than her own _son_.” After he ended his rant, he threw his head back, and he lost himself to rounds of giggles and laughter that sounded quite demonic and crazy.

Immediately, as Chloe looked away in embarrassment, Nines reached out for Gavin’s hand beneath the table. When he caught the detective’s sweaty, clammy hand in his own, he gave it an affirming squeeze of comfort and support.

All they had to do was put up with it for a little while longer, and they would be okay. Only a few more hours maximum of having to tolerate this overgrown, bratty show off, and they could head off towards a new life, a new future.

Gavin knew it was worth it, but it was a case of mind over matter, and the struggles of the heart. He had a difficult time convincing himself that this was truly worthy of all the maliferous troubles he knew Elijah Kamski was going to throw and cause his way.

For once, he truly hoped and prayed he was so very, very wrong.


	80. Intervention and Annexation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A very difficult chapter to write and read, for many reasons.

Smoke and ash flew about like mist as Gavin and Elijah stood and leaned against the fancy, thick stones of the mansion. Taking shelter from the spring storm beneath the canopy of the large house, the two men at first faced the open yard before turning towards each other for silent observation and aimless conversation. The raindrops pelted and beat down over the shingles, sounding more so like tiny explosions going off due to the intensity of the way in which they fell. Thunder boomed once across the distance, a looming threat that wasn’t followed by lightning too quickly. It flashed a few times in the night sky as the rain grew harsher and less forgiving. The porch beneath their drenched shoes was slippery, but Gavin and Elijah had a safe spot to be in while Nines and Chloe chatted about inside the kitchen.

Shockingly, the rest of ‘dinner’ had gone over relatively well. As long as Nines stroked his hand and intertwined their fingers together in a supportive embrace beneath the table, Gavin found himself capable of drowning out Elijah’s garrulous, loquacious conversation that was geared towards himself and self-praise more than anything else. Nines and Chloe seemed to get along well for the most part, chatting among themselves even after dinner as they volunteered to clean up.

Gavin was able to spot them from his vantage point close to one of the large windows. A few raindrops messily covered and splashed the glass, but it wasn’t too much that got in the way of his vision or obscured it in any other limiting way. Shivering lightly, he reached into his back pocket and dug out his lighter and a fresh cigarette. Elijah watched in mild amusement as Gavin made sure the cigarette didn’t grow wet before he lit it and took a deep drag. Making sure the smoke didn’t fly forth in Elijah’s face, Gavin kept his eyes down submissively, almost.

Elijah tossed him a tiny grin, and as he knew his step sibling’s eyes were on him, Gavin sighed a soft sigh. “You know, we can all go back to my apartment for drinks, if you want…I feel like we missed out on all these years and probably got off on the wrong foot…many times…” He really was trying hard to extend a hand of friendship, but he still couldn’t bring himself to confidently meet Elijah’s stolid eyes.

Unfortunately, Elijah was quick to drone out, “No, Gavin.”

Scowling down at the dark puddles gathering around their feet, Gavin whispered, “Why not? Do you hate me that much?”

Thunder answered him, but then Elijah spoke over it. “I don’t hate you, but I know I hated your father a lot. He tore my family apart, and you remind me too much of him. It’s nothing complicated.”

Still keeping his scowl upon his face, Gavin felt the wind tossing some water onto his forehead. Resisting the urge to shiver, he muttered bluntly, “Your mother also participated in wrecking both your life, and mine. My dad wasn’t dancing alone, you know.”

Elijah didn’t say anything, and when he hadn’t, Gavin continued painfully, in spite of his nerves feeling flayed and wrecked beyond imagination. “I…I want us to be okay, Elijah.”

Rolling his eyes, the other man hissed, “Why?”

With a tiny shrug, Gavin slowly spoke out, “I…respect you…?” His words and breath came out like someone had robbed him of his oxygen, but there wasn’t much he could do while Elijah’s cobalt eyes assessed him coldly.

A chuckle came out of Elijah upon hearing his words. “For what?” Snorting, he added in icily, “I’m not someone anyone should be proud of.”

_That’s true, and as much as I hate you, I want you to get your head out of your ass so I can move on from this…no! So we both can move on…in peace._

Inhaling more tobacco from his burning cigarette, Gavin thought about it before flicking the ashes down. “I…I don’t think…” Starting over, he spoke in the tone and pitch of a young boy rather than an adult. “I…f-forgive you.” He tried meaning it, but as the wind howled like a monster that couldn’t be tamed, Elijah glared evenly at him.

Fixing him back with a tiny scowl, Gavin puffed on his cigarette even more. He was shivering from both the cold, and from Elijah’s scrutinizing gaze. It was so judgmental…so filled to the brim with raw hate and malice.

“D-do you want t-to come to our place w-w-with Chloe?”

Why did he seem so desperate?! Like a child…like a needy child…

Again, Elijah shook his head, but then tilted it back as he folded his arms across his chest and stood tall before Gavin. “I’m not interested in being your brother,” his cold, snarky answer slapped Gavin in the face, and the other man recoiled from it.

“Why?”

Regarding the fair question, Elijah gave a slow shrug as he mumbled under his breath, “Because, like my mother, I only go after guys that are broken.”

The words he’d spoken shook Gavin to his core, and as his heart started beat faster and faster, he drowned out all the painful memories. Trying to see some form of logic and reason in such a dark situation, he innocently asked, “Wh-what’s wrong with that?”

Elijah sniffed, and he casually leaned his head against the cold stone, eyes assessing and searching through Gavin’s endlessly amid the tacent ambiance. “They don’t stay fixed…not even by force…” He himself trembled due to his sinister underbreath, and in turn, it made Gavin feel worse.

So, that was what he wanted all along…to shape and mold someone to his will, and for his own personal entertainment. It fit in line with everything he’d suspected and hated about this other tornote man, and Gavin was livid. Where he’d previously made a conscious effort to try and get along with Elijah on an emotional and empathetic level, now, he wanted nothing more than to do what he felt he should have done decades ago. Fueled and encouraged by years of anger, contempt, vitriol, regret, sorrow, misery, and self-loathing, Gavin’s face twisted into a dark, antagonistic sneer that nearly hid itself perfectly in the night. It was illuminated when lightning flashed once across the sky, however, and as it lit up the porch, Gavin saw Elijah’s icy blue eyes gazing deeply into his own.

Shaking with rage, he nearly ground his teeth violently together before growling, “Then I’m calling in my debt.”

The dangerous gleam of antipathy in his eyes was inescapable this time, but Elijah welcomed it before returning it with one of his own.

*x*x*x*x*x*

Their bodies had already made it towards one of the many garages Elijah’s large mansion contained. Elijah had pressed a button on the side of the door, and the lights turned on, and the door slid upwards. As it opened up to reveal the inside of the garage, Gavin saw that everything within the garage was in its rightful place neatly. A large, clear path had been vacant and open for them. Off to the left-hand side of the garage, Gavin saw boxes, tires hanging on the walls, shovels, and an old snowblower. Shelves held boots, gardening equipment, soil, vases, and garbage bags half full already. On the right-hand side happened to be a few containers, and a large freezer, no doubt for containing more beer. The lights flickered on but were dim, and as Elijah marched towards the center of the garage, he soon spun around and smirked at Gavin with far too much confidence.

“I have to warn you,” Gavin began seriously as rainwater dripped and trickled down off his nose and from the back of his nape, sending unwanted shudders all over his heated, feverish body. “Just because you box and do some street-fighting shit, doesn’t mean you’ll be a good fighter when going up against a cop.”

Waving him off, Elijah growled with much hostility, “Don’t care. I want to settle this once and for all as much as you do.”

Nodding, Gavin sniffed and fixed Elijah with a blank stare. “So, what’re the rules?”

The rain pounded roughly over their heads on the roof of the spacious garage, and Gavin’s heart pounded in a similar fashion. Holding back on his nerves, he watched as Elijah held out his arms while offering Gavin an austere smirk.

“There aren’t any rules.” The definitive answer potently riveted through Gavin and sent tiny shock waves deeply into his brain. The jarring reply hit him like he’d been on the receiving end of having thousands of watts of pure electricity sparking into him, slowly decimating every fiber of his being. 

A stern look was upon the older man’s face, then, and as his eyes swept from Elijah’s head right down to his toes, Gavin shook his head. “You’ve got guts, I’ll give you that…” Eyes growing dark and cloudy, he concluded venomously, “…Especially for a _bully_. That’s rare.”

Both of Elijah’s arms shot out and shoved Gavin quite roughly. Stumbling back a few steps, Gavin blinked back his rage threatening to bubble and spill over. Now wasn’t the time…

“I’m _not_ a bully,” Elijah argued vehemently, sneer as wide and menacing as the darkness outside with the rain accompanying and signifying nothing but coldness all around.

Not sparing a second, Gavin growled, “Oh yes you are.”

Approaching too quickly for Gavin’s, tastes, Elijah stomped a foot down, like a judge pounding his gavel and finalizing their fate. “Let’s just fight, alright?!” Of course, with that uttered, Elijah took the first swing. His right hand’s fist swished through the air, and in a cutting jab, he decked Gavin brutally across the jaw. Stumbling back a few feet, Gavin hadn’t been prepared, and he couldn’t defend himself in time when Elijah swung at him again.

The younger male was definitely faster, stronger, nimble on his feet, and he’d been trained in the art of combative boxing and street fighting, just as he’d claimed. Using whatever trick and method he could towards his advantage, Elijah knocked a sharp elbow potently into Gavin’s chin. Caught off-guard, the detective shielded his hands up to his face instinctively, but the moment he had, Elijah took full advantage of that. Using his trick well, he wrapped both his hands tightly around Gavin’s throat, and he pushed him and turned him about quickly. The room was spinning, suddenly, and Gavin-while trying to ensure that his face wasn’t brutally bashed in-felt Elijah guiding him violently towards the freezer. His back and shoulder blades bashed against it roughly, and Gavin cried out as bouts of sharp pain bolted up and down his spine. But that didn’t seem to want to stop Elijah at all…

The onslaught of his maliferous violence knew no bounds. Very quickly, he delivered rapid blows to Gavin’s body with his own. Heaving himself back and forth, he rammed himself directly into Gavin, making the detective’s body beat against the freezer. The items contained within it rattled and shook loudly, and both men cried out in boisterous rage while they struggled and fought for dominance.

Gavin felt that the fight was going to be all over before it really even started, and all because of the way Elijah was choking the life right out of him. The man was beside himself with pure rage, envy, and malice. Blue eyes burning coldly like the devil’s, a sinister, dolose sneer worked its way onto his face as his fingers practically bruised Gavin’s neck. The detective fought back harder, and while Elijah tried choking him within an inch of his life, he cleverly raised his right knee up, and he kicked Elijah as hard as he could in the stomach. Choking on his pain, Elijah relinquished his deadly grip on Gavin’s neck, but he recovered quickly. Jabbing twice like a viper at Gavin’s ribs, he landed in two harsh punches before Gavin wrapped his arm around his neck to hold him down.

“FUCKING SON OF A BITCH!!!”

Elijah swung around slickly, but Gavin was prepared this time. Ducking a quick blow, Gavin leapt back up and straightened his posture. Barreling into Elijah, he pushed them both away from the freezer, and as he wrapped his arms around the other man’s waist, he sent them to the cold, hard floor of the garage. Rolling on top of Elijah, Gavin tried gaining the upper hand, but Elijah swiftly kicked him in the face. Gavin’s head snapped viciously to the side. Blood sprayed off into the air with potency, and saliva mixed in with the ruby, coppery substance swirled around in his mouth. Tasting it on the tip of his tongue, it sent his rage surging like a fire that couldn’t be tamed. Lunging forth at Elijah, he let everything go in a split second.

Heart raging and hammering in his chest unforgivingly, Gavin punched Elijah back in the nose as hard as he could. This had been meant to stun the man, and it did its job well. Gasping in sheer claudication and pain, Elijah cupped his nose, and now that his hands weren’t busied with delivering his own brutal beatings, Gavin straddled Elijah between his powerful thighs. Righting himself up above the infamous android creator, Gavin’s eyes met that of his tenuous step sibling's, and he decided right then and there to finally become one with the only person who had been the source of all his pain, suffering, misery, and fear all these years.

_I’m not afraid of you…I’m not going to let you hold me back anymore…_

This was just another man as weak as he was, and as their eyes met, Gavin hissed, “YOU RUINED MY ENTIRE FUCKING LIFE!!!”

Now, his anger and body made all the decisions for him. Rearing back with his right fist while holding Elijah down with the left hand firmly, Gavin unleashed strong punches and blows over and over again directly into Elijah’s nose and cheeks. He wanted to break every last bone in this man’s body, he wanted to rearrange his face, he wanted to beat him to a bloody pulp until there was nothing left…and it _still _wouldn’t ever be enough.

Screaming in reverent terror and fury, Gavin kept up with the deadly pace and brute force of his beatings. Repeatedly, as he brought his right fist down into Elijah’s nose, blood gushed and spurted forth like a fountain, but he didn’t care. Outside, the storm picked up and raged on, as if encouraging Gavin’s rage and madness. He descended into his own turmoil, and he found he wasn’t able to pull himself out of the hole he’d dug himself into. Only if Elijah Kamski was completely wiped out, perhaps then he would know happiness once more…

Never once breaking away from Elijah’s pain-ridden eyes, Gavin screamed out profanities he hadn’t spoken in years, he cursed Elijah and his mother for ever meeting his father, he damned his own deceased father further into the regions of the hell he hoped he was in, now, and for his mother…yes, he even cried out for his mother.

She was gone. He had no one, and he cried out for the only parental figure he devoted his entire to. Hell, he owed her his life; she’d raised him all by herself, and now, she was gone, too. Who else would leave him? Why was the pain and anguish the only thing that always kept him company?

…..

No…he wasn’t alone…he realized it, and suddenly, like lightning striking through the dark clouds, his epiphany riveted through himself like a cry in the dark night.

His fists slowed down once he realized that he wasn’t alone at all. He had Nines, and Nines was going to be with him for as long as he remained alive on this Earth. He _was _loved. He _could_ love. He _did_ love.

He loved Nines, and Nines loved him.

Emitting one last scream, Gavin raised his blood-covered fist, and before he could bring it down one final time over Elijah’s face, the man beneath his body lay flat like a deflated balloon or a puppet cut off its strings. His hands twitched before falling limply at his sides, and he curled his legs up as he sobbed and choked on his tears. His eyes were beyond pink, and the blue hues almost seemed black as he stared back at Gavin, whimpering like a lost, little boy.

It shattered directly through Gavin’s final defense mechanisms, and he roared as he let loose his own tears. Everything was unrestrained, raw, and open. Feeling as naked as the day he’d been born, he could only wail back over top of Elijah’s cries.

“HAVE YOU HAD ENOUGH?!? HUH?!?” Feeling how hotly his own tears poured down his cheeks, he brushed back his mop of wet, sweaty hair and bangs as they fell into his eyes and curtained his vision. Fingers and hands twitching and shaking, Gavin felt absolutely mortified and wrecked as he cried sorrowfully.

Slowly releasing his hold on Elijah’s shoulder, as he backed off carefully, Elijah coughed, hiccupped, and his chest heaved up and down while his abdominal muscles clenched. Gut sinking in and pushing out as he struggled to breathe, he could barely manage to summon enough strength to hold the back of his hand over his nostrils. Trying to contain the blood from spilling forth like a geyser, he glared at Gavin with all the hatred in the world.

“F-FUCK Y-YOU!!!”

Feeling absolutely ashamed of himself for ever allowing it to boil down to this, Gavin closed his eyes and turned away from the sight of a bashed-up, bloodied-up Elijah Kamski. Bracing himself up on his left leg first, he got up and felt more fresh, sharp pain shooting up and down his hands, wrists, and back. His neck was strained and too tight, but what really hurt him was the deep hole he felt in his chest.

As he backed away from Elijah, the battered man groaned as he spat out saliva and blood while scowling daggers at Gavin, trying to pierce through his soul given the intensity of his hateful, spiteful gaze.

“I G-GOT S-S-SOME SH-SHOTS IN!!!” His words sounded so weak as he whimpered and cried, much like the young kid at recess who tried fighting the more powerful class bully, only to end up losing and hurting his ego and pride more than his physical body.

Wiping his nose with the back of his hand, Gavin stiffened as he sniffed out weakly, “Yeah, y-you did. Congratulations!”

Then, without even looking back, he stood as tall as he could, and he walked off out of the garage and into the cold, pouring rain. Although he’d won the fight, although he’d taken out all his anger that he’d pent up and reserved for over a decade towards Elijah Kamski and his mother, Gavin didn’t feel any better as he walked off. He felt like the smallest, weakest man in the world. He hadn’t won anything; he’d lost, and he’d acted like a wild monster.

He wasn’t any better than the person he hated the most in the entire world, currently holed up in the garage while trying to stifle his weeping and tend to his wounds.

No, they were one and the same all alike, and they may as well have been blood related.

Alone and miserable, Gavin hurried to find the only person who would be able to make the pain go away, the only person who could dry his tears and shield him from the world of broken hopes and dreams.

He needed and wanted to be in Nines’ arms right now, and that was what he was going to do.

Gavin only needed to rely on his heart in order to make his way back to Nines; the heart held both the map and the key, and he clung onto them dearly. They were the only things he valued and cherished, next to Nines, who’d awakened such intense feelings to begin with.


	81. The Rain Within His Hands

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jesus, Mary and Joseph, I can't believe I'm almost done with this story. One more chapter and it's all over. This took much longer than I expected.

Limping all the way back inside Elijah’s fancy mansion through the patio doors, Gavin slid himself inside the warm home. Greeted with the familiar décor of his step sibling and his android bride’s images drawn in an expensive painting hanging above in the den, Gavin glared intently at the gas fireplace that had been turned on mildly to add more of a homey touch and effect more so than for heating up the place. Water dripped from his nose, chin, and the back of his head down to the floor. Small puddles formed down by his shoes, and as his heels squeaked and slid over the expensive floorboards, it caught Chloe’s and Nines’ attention.

The two androids were busy with clearing and cleaning the kitchen, and the moment Gavin walked into the brightly lit room, their soft, effervescent, dulcifluous chatter ceased. Eyeing the now languid detective, both Nines and Chloe gaped, and their jaws hung open and quivered as they took in his sight from head to toe, completely drenched.

Shivering, Gavin flicked his hair back as he took one glance at the marble kitchen counter. An expensive, fancily decorated two-layered cake with chocolate and vanilla icing sat behind Nines, no doubt meant for the celebration of Gavin’s reunion and relationship mending with Elijah Kamski.

What a laugh…

Chloe’s LED light was already yellow before she cried out weakly, “Gavin! What’s going on?!” Due to the nature of the alarming situation, Chloe’s mannerisms and words weren’t dulciloquent any longer.

Nodding as he studied the bruises on Gavin’s cheeks, chin, and jaw, Nines hissed, “You’re injured!”

When Gavin wiped his nose with his hand, Nines caught traces of blood all over the detective’s skin. There seemed to be credulity added and given about what had occurred already without Gavin having to say a word, but Nines still inquired, “Whose blood—”

“It’s not my blood.” Gavin’s mien was demure, insouciant, and it terrified Chloe, especially. She descended into a dubitative mood the longer she examined the blood splatter.

Racing towards Gavin, she gripped his hands in her own, and she shook him while shrieking, “Where’s Elijah?!”

Nodding back over his shoulder towards the patio doors, Gavin sighed dejectedly, “In the garage.”

No longer giving much of a damn about the soaked detective’s obstinate, intractable attitude, Chloe squealed in terror as she bolted through the patio doors and flew out into the dark, rainy night. Staring after her, Nines remained silent for a moment, and then pressed a hand over his mouth. That same hand moved upwards, and he pinched the bridge of his nose while his eyes closed shut tightly.

Nines figured that if he’d been human, now would’ve been a moment where he no doubt experienced a pretty strong, aggressive headache. After scanning and assessing whatever had happened, the traces of DNA and evidence not completely wiped out by the rain informed him of plenty regarding the gruesome acts that had transpired in the garage between his partner and his creator.

Shifting, Gavin sniffed while shaking off more rain from his bruised body. “I’m not gonna say sorry,” he began bluntly, “and if you expect it from me, then you’re more than welcome to fuck right off out of my life, Nines.”

Dejectedly, Nines placed his hands on his hips, hung his head, and reminded himself to stay calm. They’d tried solving their problems using the ‘angry route’ before, and it never led them anywhere productive. What was the use of employing it, now? He’d tried it, and only felt draffish when incapable of yielding any strong results.

Cocking his head to the side while ensuring that his eyes never wandered upwards, Nines hissed thinly, “This isn’t what I meant when I encouraged you to try and connect with him.” Crossing his arms over his chest, he stood tall, finally meeting Gavin’s eyes. “Do you think this is going to get you what it is you want, Gavin? Hmm? Is brute force the _only_ go-to method that works?”

Deadpanning for a moment, Gavin finally got a hold of himself before he sneered, “Looks that way, huh?”

Mirroring his sneer, Nines retorted, “Yeah, how’s that workin’ for you? Hmm?”

Surprisingly, Gavin kept his mouth shut, and he didn’t even bother lashing out. He wasn’t moving, either, but Nines knew that he was retreating deeply into his thoughts. Good. As long as he thought about it, then maybe they had a chance of surviving through this.

Turning to stare out into the dark night while the rain soaked the windows as though they were trapped under the sea, the world outside was illuminated once by a potent, piercing flash of lightning. It seemed to almost beckon Nines forth, and the android found he couldn’t disobey his internal calling and nature’s beckoning. After all, he was always in favor of doing the ethical, right, proper thing…

Holding out a hand before Gavin, he instructed, “Stay here and try to dry yourself off.” As he walked in the direction Chloe had gone, he heard Gavin’s shoes squeaking loudly.

“Where are you goin’?”

Pausing as he slid the patio doors open and was assaulted by both rain and wind, Nines spoke out into the yard, “I’m going to do what I’ve always done and likely _will always _be doing, Gavin…”

He then chose that moment specifically to glance back at his lover. The pointed scowl was enough to render Gavin speechless. With the human who was often so recalcitrant and petty reduced to a solid mass of silence, Nines mordantly pressed on.

“I’m going to clean up _your_ mess.”

*x*x*x*x*x*

Nines stumbled upon both Elijah and Chloe in the only open garage outside off to the right side of the mansion. All the motion-detection lights were on as he paced wetly towards them, and as soon as he hovered by the doorway, he caught the sight of blood decorating practically all over the floor, but in a distinct, unique pattern. That pattern built up almost a little ‘road’ of sorts, and it trailed up and led all the way to where Elijah Kamski was sitting…right on top of a medium-sized horse toy that had been hidden away in the shadows of the left-hand side of the garage.

Elijah’s arms loosely were draped in his lap, and Chloe loomed over his side, holding a tissue that was beyond coated and drenched in deep red blood. Dabbing at his nose and busted-open lips, she hissed whenever he did as he recoiled and leaned away from her in pain.

When she tried making the tissue meet his upper lip, Elijah leapt up and slapped her hand away from his face. “D-don’t!” he fought back strongly, “j-just leave it, Chloe!!”

LED light red in the darkness, Chloe shook her head and stubbornly refused, “Elijah! If you love me, you’ll let me take care of you!”

“I said go a-away, Chloe!!”

Sensing that the situation was going to spiral out of control too quickly, Nines pushed his way past Chloe. Brushing his shoulder against hers, from his own jean pocket, he fished out a fresh, deep green colored cloth. It was soft, smooth, and silky, and it was quite clean.

“Nines,” Chloe began, “I—”

Hushing the panicked android softly, Nines held the cloth up, at first only allowing Elijah to examine it for himself. Through his tear and pain-stricken eyes, he groaned, and while he was unable to sniffle without snorting quite sickeningly, he drew himself as far away from the cloth, as if it were a wild animal set out to attack him.

When Nines leaned into him, Elijah turned away, but Nines was just as stubborn. Sitting down on the neck of the horse while Elijah moved himself closer to the butt of the horse, Nines squinted at his wounds and bruises. “I just want to help you, Elijah,” he spoke out gently his intentions to his future brother-in-law, and the injured man glared at him.

Fresh blood poured out of his nose, though he tried concealing how much it hurt and affected himself. “If y-you w-want to help me,” he stammered on with major difficulty, his voice sounding nasally and so very different, “th-then y-you’ll c-call Gavin o-over here s-s-so w-we c-can—”

Holding his chin tightly in his free hand that didn’t wield the cloth, Nines interrupted, “I’ll do no such thing, Elijah.” Very tenderly, while Chloe looked on in raw panic, Nines gently wiped Elijah’s lips. “Gavin is my fiancé, my partner, and the love of my life,” he expounded to them both. “He is the single-most important person to me, and I won’t ever put him in harm’s way…not for you, not for anyone. Are we clear on that?”

As his eyes searched Elijah’s too thoroughly, the injured male winced as he coughed, “I g-get it, b-but he—” Stifling another pained groan when Nines pinched the bridge of his nose carefully to try and get an actual feel for it in order to assess just what kind of damage they were dealing with, Elijah let out fresh tears.

Amazed by how on earth it was possible for a man who’d only hours ago showed off his physique and physical strength to them to now be crying his eyes out like a wronged little boy, Nines mopped and soaked up as much fresh, warm blood as he could while Elijah whimpered and trembled.

Finally, when his faint whimpering subsided, though marginally, Elijah gazed at Nines as he bemoaned weakly, “O-on a-a…scale of…one t-to ten…one being like…abysmal, a-and t-ten being still ‘okay’, how—”

“How ugly are you? Ten.” Nines interrupted with his blunt, raw honesty. The result of that was Elijah jabbing a sharp elbow into the android’s side, but it didn’t do anything aside from put more pressure on the bruise already prominently spreading on Elijah’s flesh.

Eyes falling to the floor, Nines sighed weakly, “You’re quite a manipulative man, Elijah, and I still don’t know what exactly happened here, but I seriously think it’s all your fault and doing.”

Laughing in spite of it not being funny in the slightest, Elijah snapped, “What h-happened w-was th-that I got m-my ass handed t-t-to me, th-that’s what h-happened!!”

“You were probably warned,” Chloe barked and discepted, cleverly reading through it all in a heartbeat. “Gavin wouldn’t do something like this unprovoked.”

Only mildly angry, Nines facetiously and fatuously commented, “It sounds like you really need to settle with Chloe for life, and hang onto her dearly, Elijah; you won’t last a second in the real world without her.”

As if he already agreed and knew this discommodious fact, Elijah closed his eyes and mumbled something under his breath.

“Your wounds and injuries aren’t too grievous,” Nines began factually. “However, I’m afraid to say that your nose needs to be snapped back into place, as the bone and bridge is somewhat unset…”

Cringing, the wounded man on the horse whispered faintly, “C-can y-you do it?”

“I can,” Nines promised him as he gathered the cloth in his palm, “but it will hurt a great deal.”

“Don’t care; fix it.”

Nodding at his wounded future brother-in-law, Nines pressed the cloth over the human’s nose, and he advised, “Count to three.”

Elijah groaned a long groan, “One…t-two…”

_Three._

Almost pinching Elijah’s crooked nose bridge, Nines leaned his weight into the task, and he jolted his wrist once from left to right. With a loud ‘crack!’, Elijah’s nose bridge was aligned properly and in proportion, just as it’d appeared prior to the fight. Of course, Elijah hadn’t been prepared for it, and before he could let out a bloodcurdling scream, Nines clamped his cloth-covered hand over his mouth. Elijah kicked and bucked much like a wild stallion, but Nines wrapped his free arm around the human’s shoulders, and he pressed their bodies closely together in an odd embrace. It wasn’t much of a hug, however; it was a means to keep Elijah from hurting himself, and while Chloe sobbed and wept in a corner, Nines held as firmly onto Elijah as he could.

Whispering words of empathy and comfort into his hair, he rubbed the man’s shoulders and back as he hushed him. “Shh, shh, let it all go, Elijah.” The other man was screaming and stomping as he rammed himself against Nines, trying so very desperately to break away, but Nines was stronger. “It’ll be alright, Elijah. It’ll only hurt for a few more seconds, but then, I promise you that the pain will go…”

The strangest feeling in the world for the RK900 on that stormy, windy, rainy night hadn’t been gleaned from the odd flashes of lightning and the growling thunder that sounded as if it’d been coming from the pit of a belly of a crazy monster. It hadn’t been watching Chloe sobbing happily at the progress they’d made, it hadn’t been the fact that he missed Carrie Moser as if she were his own mother, and it hadn’t been his misplaced sense of disappointment in both himself, and in Gavin for allowing this to ever happen. No, to Nines, the strangest feeling in the world had been his system registering the sense that two shaky, sweaty limbs came up around his shoulders, and he was being held tightly.

Staring at the man before himself, Nines felt how powerfully Elijah’s body rocked against his own. Together, they sat on the old rocking horse, and the more it bucked and moved, the louder Elijah’s sobs grew, and the tighter his grip on Nines’ body became.

Hushing him, Nines soothed, “Like Gavin, you were once a victim, Elijah. But the question remains: do you wish to carry out the rest of your days as a victim? Or do you want to become more than that?”

Pursing her lips together while nervously glancing back and forth between Nines and Elijah, Chloe shook her head, hands clasped together as if praying for the right answer to come from her lover.

Weakly, Elijah tried once to breathe through his re-set nose, but when it brought him far too much pain, he sat back as he uttered a curse word under his breath.

Trying to keep a level head, Nines whispered, “You don’t have to forgive Gavin right away; just hear him out and listen to what he is expecting from you. That’s all.” He’d made it out to be relatively simple, but he knew that if there was any change to be developed, it had to come from within Elijah, himself. He wasn’t going to force the man to alter anything. Elijah had to be the one to inspire himself.

Nodding slowly, the android creator placed both his blood-stained hands on the length of his thighs while he attempted to solidify his trembling. Wiping the once-devastated look from his bruised face, he choked out, “I…I d-don’t like being so resentful and angry all the t-time. It’s not me, and I’m tired of it.”

This was a wonderful first step, but Nines got a hold of himself before he leapt up in excitement. Reminding himself that they still had a long way to go, he supplied, “It’s not a requirement for you to be in our lives all the time if you don’t want to. In fact,” he hoped this wouldn’t sound rude, and he carefully braced himself for any negative reaction out of Kamski as he explicated openly, “Gavin’s already made it clear that he doesn’t want for you to attend our wedding in the late summer. He says it’ll disturb him, and since I care about him as much as I do, I’m afraid I’m going to have to respect his wishes.”

As the wind howled and blew into the open garage, Elijah amended the weak, broken facial expression that had previously been set on his face. Instead, he wore a mask of sheer indifference, now.

“That’s fine, Nines,” he muttered as he hung his head and smiled a coppery pink smile that stained his white teeth. “In fact, I’d do _anything_ to get Gavin out of my hair, and if it means signing over everything my stepfather left behind for him hiding out in the house, I’m willing to do it.”

“You’ll do this? You really will?” Nines asked, voice gloriously roughened by passion. This meant that after everything, they’d finally won. To conquer meant not to beat down one’s enemies or to put someone else in a low state. For Nines, the lesson he’d learned on that night was that in order to conquer, the act had to be achieved and the points had to be made potently enough to change someone’s mindset and their heart. The rest hopefully would follow naturally in its own time and through its own course, but he was eternally grateful for the improvements they’d made in a few mere hours.

Though Elijah Kamski was still quite noisome while he threw Nines a minacious glare when he thought the clever android wasn’t looking, it seemed as if all hope from his own end had somehow been lost. But thankfully, even though it appeared as though Elijah had forgotten about the pernicious situation he’d just been rescued from, he still clasped Nines’ hand in one of his own, and then allowed Chloe to hold onto his free one. Together, the two androids carried and supported their injured creator back through the door leading into the warm, dry mansion. They helped him take his indoor elevator all the way up to the fourth-floor bathroom. When they entered the bathroom that was much bigger than Nines’ entire apartment, Chloe helped Elijah take off his shirt, and Nines contributed by tending to his wounds.

As pervasive as they were, the RK900 worriedly noted a few bruised ribs. Thankfully, nothing else seemed broken, but that didn’t mean things were in the clear.

Once Chloe turned on the water faucet and adjusted it to a warmer temperature to clean out the wounds properly, Nines gently sat down next to Elijah on the ledge of the large, grand bathtub. The man’s fingers hooked onto the ledge like claws, and he let out a serious of broken, pained breaths while Chloe fetched plenty of bandages, gauze, as well as soothing balms, creams, and antiseptic ointments. She allowed Nines to apply them to the most serious and most severe areas that had been attacked, first, and then she held Elijah’s hand in her lap while her soft fingers delicately caressed the back of Elijah’s red knuckles.

Wincing and hissing as Nines held up a damp cloth an inch away from his face, the human’s reactions only made Nines frown in utter disappointment.

“Elijah,” Nines spoke out in a soft, yet urgent tone, “I haven’t even touched you, yet…”

This brought a tiny giggle out of Chloe, and Elijah rolled his eyes as he whispered to her in ever the sultry manner, “All men are babies, I know.”

She blinked innocently at him, LED light yellow. “I didn’t say anything!”

Shaking his head and muttering something incoherent under his breath, Elijah turned to Nines, and at first, an aggressive look crossed his face. His eyes turned dark, and something flashed within their depths, but then, just as quickly as it appeared, it was gone. Nodding at Nines in a jerky motion, the habile android creator pushed out under the guise of trying to appear strong, “Why’re you helping me out for? I was a total dick to you and your lover.”

“Hmm,” Nines pondered deeply, “while I can’t say that’s inaccurate, I won’t sit here and call you a ‘dick’, Elijah; it’s counterproductive, and not at all what I’m here to do.” As he held Elijah’s hand in his own, gently guiding him to turn away from the tub, Nines determined it was nearly time to turn it off, and he made sure to double-check that the temperature was more for the purposes of comfort.

Waving his hands through the water as it slowly filled the large tub, Nines deemed that the water needed some salt. Staring at Chloe, he gently asked, “Do you happen to have any Epsom bath salt? I want to try and help him to relax his body.”

Smiling in appreciation, Chloe fetched it from the bedroom in a jiffy. While she poured a generous amount of it in the warm bathwater, Nines helped Elijah back onto his feet. The man frowned lightly at him, but Nines inched his arms up, and very carefully took off his white t-shirt that was now beyond sweaty, bloodied, and reeked terribly. Tossing it down to the bathroom floor, Nines then helped Elijah with the rest of his clothes, allowing him some privacy so he could strip off his undergarments hurriedly. Only when Elijah was carefully submerged in the tub did Nines and Chloe look over at him.

Arms dangling on both opposing sides of the tub, the android creator tilted his head back, allowing his hair to become completely drenched and soaked by the warm water. He let out a deep sigh of relief, closed his eyes, and then spoke out gruffly, “You didn’t have to do this for me, but you did. I still don’t understand why…” Eyes opening, then, he gazed at Nines, a small smile forming on his cracked, bruised lips. Perhaps he’d been enjoying the diffugient scents; they were rather soothing churning in the air.

“Maybe you’re more of a freak than I am,” Elijah whispered, but it hadn’t been designed as an insult. Hanging back, Nines listened, his dark hair falling into his eyes the more he craned his neck down.

Reaching up with a hand to wash his face, Elijah let out another pained groan. “I don’t even understand anything these days,” he admitted perhaps more to himself than to the occupants in the bathroom. “All I know however is that I’m tired of people hating me, and I’m tired of being scared of my past.”

Was he really ready to let go of it?

Unsure due to the unpredictability he’d seen pouring out of Elijah Kamski for so long, Nines could only hope that by some bizarre miracle, the man wasn’t lying, leading him on, joking, or being deceptive in some other way.

Elijah suddenly seemed so enthused by the water. The amusement in his eyes danced about, and as he raised his right hand and let the water drops fall off it and into the tub below, he let out a chuckle. The ripples seemed to move in time with his laughter, and as he splashed the bathwater about mildly, he cried out in glee, “I will forgive Gavin, but only because of what _you _did for me, Nines.”

When their eyes met, and when there weren’t any signs of deception or mockery present within them, Nines rasped, “You…you forgive—”

“Only because of you,” Elijah restated, interrupting to laugh a small bark of a laugh that wasn’t aimed at being cruel. “Nines, I like you, I really do,” he stated truthfully and calmly, nodding his affirmation curtly. “I can’t say the same about Gavin, but you know what? To hell with his money.” Gesturing all around the large bathroom, eyes sailing and gliding over his expensive trinkets, décor, and possessions, Elijah sighed out happily, eyes roaming over Chloe’s form, “I’ve got everything I need, _right here_.”

“You never wanted his money?” Nines asked, a part of himself still not entirely convinced.

As if reading through his thoughts, Elijah gasped almost sarcastically, “Oh, I know, right? So insane how one of the richest men in North America isn’t as greedy and as much of a damn lout as you’d think him to be.”

“What do you want from Gavin, if not money, then?” Pausing for a moment, Nines rephrased his question. “What was the impetus for you to do this?”

With a cold, detached shrug that look like it hurt to do, Elijah hissed between his clenched teeth, “The money was never a motivating factor. I honestly knew he needed it, which is why I kind of held it as barter, if you will.”

Well, this wasn’t exactly a ‘better’ answer at all. In fact, it almost seemed downright sadistic and cruel.

Biting his tongue before insults flew forth, Nines snapped viciously, “So you wanted him to suffer, is that what you’re saying?”

“At first, yes,” came the honest answer, but then something in the pit of Elijah’s eyes-though he wasn’t aware of his own fugacious emotions-lit up, and then fizzled out. He even seemed to shrink in the tub, almost a caricature of himself from so long ago.

His blood drying and dripping off into the clean, pure water now gave it a rather fuscous color.

Offering Nines a somewhat puckish glance beaming from the center of his eyes, the man in the tub simply stated in a not so recondite manner, “Later on, I noticed that since the money was the only thing motivating him, I wanted to use that in order to get him to talk to me.”

The tall android was now in a state of utter bewilderment. Head shaking slowly, he coughed out in a gravelly tone, “I d-don’t understand…if you wanted to speak with Gavin, then why didn’t you reach out to him on your own? Why all _this _unnecessary burden??”

Face overrun with utter indignity and contempt suddenly, Elijah answered, “Do you have _any_ idea how scared I was?”

“Scared?!” Nines snorted in utter disbelief. “You’ve got to be kidding me, Elijah…this isn’t—”

“It is,” the man argued back, bitter resentment flooding his veins as he dropped his hands back down into the tub. “I was afraid of how he’d react, given how we hadn’t spoken to each other in many years. I knew he hated me, but to actually _hear_ someone say that…” He laughed a dry, weak laugh, shivering as he gathered his knees into his chest.

“…That’s something else, and I didn’t want to hear about how much he hated me, how everything was my fault, and my mother’s…”

At his side, Chloe knelt almost submissively. She grabbed one of his hands, and then pressed her small, pink lips to the back of the limb, sweetly kissing his knuckles. It seemed more as though she was kneeling and worshipping him, and he only cooed down at her and pet her head with his free hand.

Rolling his eyes, Nines drawled out, “Please, Chloe; this isn’t a holy relic.”

Ignoring his jarring statement, Elijah droned on, “As I said before, I don’t want to be afraid. I think what Gavin did to me was probably well deserved…” Wincing as he pressed a hand to his face and touched the bruises and swollen up areas lightly, he added, “I guess he had every right to do this to me, but rest assured, I never wanted his money, I never meant to ruin his family life, and I don’t know how I feel about wanting to hate him anymore.”

Regarding his creator with a look of genuine respect, Nines could only say, “Thank you for trying to understand. We will leave here, now, but can I trust you to say that there’s a truce, now?”

Smiling lightly, Elijah reached back and played with his hair. Chloe fetched him a bottle of shampoo, squirting and dabbing some of it on the top of his skull, and then lathering and massaging for him gently. While she whistled one of the sweetest tunes, her lover showed his pleasure by closing his eyes, dipping his head back, and practically purring like a grown wildcat.

“You have my word, Nines,” came the reply after some heavy waiting. “I’ll stay away from Gavin, but I’d like to bury the hatchet, and I mean what I say.”

Deciding to trust the man, Nines waved auspiciously, and then winked. “I’m counting on you to prove that.”

Quickly, Elijah wheezed as he cupped his hurt, bruised ribs. “Sure. But you gotta promise me that whatever you do, if you wanna help Gavin, for god’s sake, make sure he attends some damn therapy.”

Not really insulted, Nines stared down at his feet as he stated, “I was thinking of attending some sessions, as well. Perhaps we could all take part in the men’s group.” Head slightly elevated, then, he added, “I can’t say I’m a connoisseur or paragon of self-control; I often let my temper get the better of me, and I can’t keep doing that if I’m to marry Gavin.” Only he himself knew he was referring to the arguments, as well as lashing out by nearly damaging furniture and décor in the apartment on two separate occasions.

…Come to think of it, Elijah’s suggestion perhaps wasn’t so negative, after all.

Taking one glance up, Nines was shocked to see that the humanity Elijah Kamski still had left within himself enabled the man to draw out a tiny wink of his own right back.

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [His Love](https://archiveofourown.org/works/22042606) by [Ye_Olde_Taffer](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ye_Olde_Taffer/pseuds/Ye_Olde_Taffer)
  * [Happy Land of Denial](https://archiveofourown.org/works/22212601) by [Ye_Olde_Taffer](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ye_Olde_Taffer/pseuds/Ye_Olde_Taffer)


End file.
